Women and Leadership in the European Commission

Abstract

In 2019, Ursula von der Leyen became the first female president of the European Commission, leading the most gender equal College of Commissioners since the institution’s inception. However, the increase in female politicians, managers and experts in the European Commission has been a more long-term development—though obtaining much less public and academic attention. In fact, scholarship on these women leaders both at the political and administrative-managerial levels, their performance and impact on the intra- and inter-institutional dynamics of the Commission has been largely lacking. This panel focuses on women’s leadership and agency in the European Commission, connecting both political and administrative-managerial perspectives. Analysing women leaders from Ursula von der Leyen to Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini, as well as gender dynamics in the administrative sub-structures of the EU Commission, the panel contributions will study women’s access into leadership positions, as well as their behaviour, leadership styles and impact on the Commission’s proceedings and European governance more broadly. In doing so, it focuses on three central research questions: (1) How have women accessed leadership positions in the EU Commission? (2) How did they perform the functions of their offices?, and finally, (3) To what extent, if any, did they achieve significant successes and lasting impacts? Integrating theoretical and empirical insights from the disciplines of EU studies, leadership studies and gender studies, this panel will provide a deep understanding of the significant role of women in the evolution of the European Commission and the process of European governance more broadly.

Title	Details
The Leadership of Ursula Von Der Leyen as President of the European Commission	View Paper Details
Women on Mars: Assessing the Role of the Two Post-Lisbon High Representatives in the Case of Libya	View Paper Details
Rhetoric and Leadership: A Comparison of Female Vice-Presidents of the European Commission	View Paper Details