Can the European Parliament be a stepping stone into national politics? The gendered career paths of Maltese and Luxembourgish members of the European Parliament

Abstract

The representation of women in the European Parliament tends to be higher than in many national parliaments. Therefore, this article examines to what extent experience as a Member of the European Parliament could serve as a stepping stone into national politics. It focuses on Luxembourg and Malta as two typical cases of small states with preferential voting systems with an incumbency bias. It first identifies the challenges women face, then analyses how they affect the career paths of Members of the European Parliament. It argues that being a Member of the European Parliament does not resolve all cultural and institutional hurdles, but that it addresses the low visibility of women and the incumbency bias of the electoral systems in these two countries. However, reforms at the national level are unavoidable if the gender gap in national parliaments is to be resolved.