In Greece, where women’s representation in politics is far behind among EU countries, Prime Minister Mitsotakis promised that there would be more women in the government if he was re-elected. However, experts say that gender biases point to a deeper problem.
Greece’s new electoral cycle did not offer a new beginning for women’s enhanced inclusion in a country where gender equality in representation has not been strong.
Although the ruling conservative New Democracy Party received 41% of the votes in the elections held last Sunday in Greece, the government could not be formed because it fell below the 46% predicted by the proportional election system.
As New Democracy leader Mitsotakis did not want to cooperate with opposition parties; and the opposition parties did not form a coalition among themselves, the elections will be repeated on 25 June.
Mitsotakis, who is expected to win the second vote, has not enhanced women’s inclusion substantially . In his former cabinet which consisted of 58 members, there were only 10 women, and only two of them were ministers. While Mitsotakis has promised to put “more” women in the government if reelected, reports say gender biases point to a deeper problem.
In her article, Yannick Pasquet underlines that while in 2019, the Mitsotakis government introduced a mandatory quota of at least 40 percent of female candidates on electoral lists they do not make it as MPs.
She also states that sexism is evident in the media. Pasquet notes that when Greece’s former vice-president of the European Parliament Eva Kaili was held during the Qatargate corruption scandal, “Greek media focused on her “beauty” and beautiful blue eyes”.
The previous leader Tsipras, had also promised equal representation in politics, but in 2015 there were only two women in his cabinet.
“We live in a patriarchal society, we are a Mediterranean society, and a lot of gender prejudices persist,” Stella Kasdagli, co-founder of the nonprofit “Women on top” told AFP.
Women in Greece gained the right to vote in 1952, and only one in five MPs is a woman, one of the lowest in the EU.