H ave women finally succeeded in persuading the long-term tenants of power-men-to start sharing the precious commodity of political leadership with them? In the twenty-seven European Union (EU) member states, there are two women presidents in office (in Finland and Ireland) and one woman prime minister (in Germany). Three governments, however, have 40-50 percent women ministers (Finland, Sweden, and Spain), while eight governments have more than 30 percent women ministers (including Denmark, Germany, France, Austria, and the United Kingdom), and the overall percentage of women in the European Parliament is 30 percent. The numerical presence of women in legislative assemblies and in governments has never been this high. Does this mean that equal gender representation in politics is forthcoming and just a matter of time? To answer this question I explore various factors that could affect women's leadership in European politics in the twenty-first century, contrasting potential dangers with more optimistic scenarios.
An upward trend?For a long time it was believed that the underrepresentation of women in politics could be explained by women's lack of resources and by traditional prejudice against women performing public roles. Within this framework equal representation could eventually be achieved as a country developed. However, it became clear that increasing numbers of highly educated women, wealthy women, and women with professional experience in law or management did not fundamentally change the power relations between men and women (Leyenaar 2004). Women's lack of
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