Twice as Available: Motherhood and the Gendered Costs in Electoral Campaigns

In our paper, we focus on motherhood as an aspect of personalism in campaigns (Deason et al 2015). Motherhood often acts as a significant constraint on women’s political ambitions and candidacy. Drawing on about seventy ethnographic observations collected during Spain’s 2023 general election as part of the TWICEASGOOD ERC project, this study examines how motherhood shapes women’s experiences as political candidates. The field notes reveal five recurrent issues: everyday sexism and gendered comments; challenges of work–family reconciliation and childcare; time and scheduling pressures; differences in party culture and rhetorical framing; and the varying levels of practical support provided to candidates with caregiving responsibilities. Across these observations, motherhood emerges not only as a private concern but as a political barrier that structures women’s participation. Mothers face logistical constraints—difficulty attending evening meetings, lack of childcare during campaign events, exhaustion from travel—and also subjective emotional burdens such as guilt, self-doubt, and pressure to appear perpetually available. Yet, some of the cases provide a different nuance: certain candidates successfully turn motherhood into a moral and empathetic asset, using it to connect with voters and claim authenticity. Cross-party differences highlight distinct gendered logics: while left-wing parties (Sumar, PSOE) embrace discourses of care and equality but still demand constant presence, right-wing parties (PP, Vox) valorise traditional motherhood yet offer minimal structural support. Together, these ethnographic insights reveal that the boundaries between care, ambition, and legitimacy remain deeply gendered within Spain’s partisan world.