Legitimacy, Voice, and Gender in the Context of Women-Only Citizens’ Assemblies in Hungary

Women-only citizens’ assemblies (CAs) represent an innovation in the design of deliberative democratic institutions. Held in Budapest in 2025, the first two such assemblies globally offered a novel lens through which to examine the intersection of gender, voice, and democratic legitimacy. This paper presents an analysis of the recommendations produced by these assemblies and what they reveal about women’s civic priorities in a deeply gender-unequal context. Using qualitative content analysis of the final recommendations, alongside interviews with facilitators and a focus group with assembly participants, the research investigates the kinds of issues foregrounded in a gender-segregated deliberative space. Do these recommendations challenge structural inequalities and systemic gender roles? How do they reflect collective concerns around care, safety, work, and representation? Additionally, facilitators’ reflections provide insights into the quality of deliberation and whether a women-only environment enabled a distinct form of civic expression. Beyond analyzing the outputs, the paper tackles a foundational question: are women-only CAs a legitimate and valuable form of deliberative democratic innovation, or do they risk reinforcing separation and exclusion? This normative inquiry engages with the literature on participatory governance and the broader debates around inclusive institutional design. In doing so, the paper contributes to emerging scholarship on gendered participation and deliberative experimentation, with a focus on post-socialist Central Europe. It raises key questions about whose voices are heard in democratic innovation, and how we might reimagine inclusion in the design of future deliberative mechanisms.