Tracing women through the EP: A descriptive analysis of female MEPs across committees, 1958-1993

This paper offers a descriptive and longitudinal analysis of women’s participation in committees of the European Parliament (EP) from 1958 to 1993. By tracing the presence and roles of female Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), it investigates how institutional structures and gendered norms shape committee participation and leadership within the EP. Drawing on archival sources, including committee lists, plenary documents, and biographical records, the study maps women’s distribution across “hard” or “male” and “soft” or “female” committees, commonly associated with traditionally “male” and “female” policy areas. In addition, the paper analyzes women’s occupancy of key positions such as committee chair, vice-chair, and rapporteur, as well as their integration into the expanding committee system. Research on gender and legislative institutions has consistently shown that women tend to be concentrated in policy areas linked to caregiving, education, and social issues, while men dominate economic, security, and foreign affairs portfolios. Studies of national parliaments and international organizations argue that this division reflects broader gendered patterns of political recruitment, perceived expertise, and access to leadership tracks. This paper situates the EP within this wider literature, demonstrating both continuity with and gradual departure from these broader trends. Expected findings suggest that while women were most visible in socially oriented “soft” committees, they were nonetheless represented across a broad range of policy areas. These patterns raise important questions about political recruitment, expertise, and pathways to leadership. By tracing women’s committee placements and institutional roles over time, the study reconstructs the gendered evolution of the EP’s internal organization and demonstrates how institutional opportunities and constraints become visible through systematic descriptive analysis of women’s participation.