Gendering the European Parliament: Structures, Policies, and Practices

While the European Commission as agenda-setter of EU policies has been scrutinized in detail, the European Parliament still requires a comprehensive investigation that addresses the European Parliament as a gendered institution and its gendered impacts on EU policies. This book provides a multi-faceted innovative analysis of the EP by studying it comprehensively from a gender perspective addressing changes and continuities. It asks how and why the EP, as an institution, is gendered and what the gendered impacts of recent changes are when it comes to the structures, policies and practices of the EP. The book brings together scholars from a variety of theoretical and methodological backgrounds. They are united by their ability to provide the puzzle pieces necessary to fully comprehend the EP from a gender perspective. The different disciplines (sociology, political sciences, law, management studies, cultural studies) bring together different methodological approaches. The collection functions as a fruitful laboratory for exchange among different approaches. We investigate institutionalisation in the EP in a broad fashion, analysing the development of organisational patterns, rules and procedures and their effect on gender equality as well as revealing operational aspects, the dynamics of the political groups and balance between legislature and executive and their impact on this policy field.