Union of Equality – von der Leyen’s presidential leadership for a new political doctrine

Abstract

When Ursula von der Leyen became the European Commission’s first-ever female President in 2019 she proclaimed that equality will be a policy priority for her. She announced the doctrine of “A Union of Equality” meaning “equality for all and equality in all of its senses”. Von der Leyen exercised political leadership by introducing numerous organizational and policy changes to breath life into this vision, starting with setting up the first gender parity College. After many years of standstill, several equality strategies have been adopted ever since starting with the Gender Equality Strategy in 2020. However, this doctrine has encountered a lot of problems on the one hand due to gender backlash in many member states and on the other hand due to the unprecedented crises for the European Union. The papers analyse the new “Union of Equality” doctrine and the leadership role of the Commission President. The panel is part of an international project on evaluating the von der Leyen Commission with a gender lens.

Title	Details
“A Union of Equality” – A New Doctrine for the European Union?	View Paper Details
“Free to be yourself in the EU”: the von der Leyen Commission and LGBTIQ equality in the Eastern Partnership countries	View Paper Details
Introducing the "Union of Equality"	View Paper Details
Words and Deeds: The von der Leyen Commission’s Defence of Equality as an EU Value in Times of Opposition	View Paper Details
Promoting equality and accommodating queer diversity – LGBTIQ* rights under the “Union of Equality” doctrine	View Paper Details