Searching for Agency: Gendering Leadership in European Integration Theory

Although they are still underrepresented, women are entering the upper echelons of EU institutions in unprecedented numbers. More and more are breaking the glass ceiling and attaining leadership positions. Does this have an effect on leadership and on European integration? We still don’t know, nor do we have the theoretical tools ready to investigate. Thus, different strands of literature: integration theories, leadership studies, and gender studies need to be considered and linked. Recently, linkages have been discussed between each of the three pairs among these strands: gendering integration theories, leadership in the EU, and gender and leadership. We search for connections between all three strands and make these productive for investigating gender and leadership in the EU. We contend that integration theories can offer insights into some of these emergent trends, but that these must be expanded through a gender lens. We assume that the conceptualization of agency is vital for exploring such connections.