Gender and Politics Research Network in South-East Europe (GenPolSEE) in cooperation with the Institute of Social Sciences and the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory of University in Belgrade, supported by Heinrich Böll Foundation in Belgrade, were organizing the Thematic Meeting “Women’s Representation in Parliaments in Southeast Europe“, November 29, 2025.
The countries in the SEE region, which have a common history of past communist/socialist regimes, have followed similar trajectories, including gender equality reforms, to enhance women’s political representation. Despite the numerical gains of women in politics, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding women’s political representation in local and national parliaments.
The objective was to provide a comprehensive overview of the presence, representation, and activity of women in politics across the countries of SЕЕ over the past decades. Participants from the following countries offered their insights: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Their contributions were successful in providing a comprehensive understanding of the status of women in politics. The participants shared invaluable findings, including the outcomes they have achieved, the challenges they encounter, the dynamics of political life outside the formal sphere, and the extent to which they engage in and exert influence over the formulation of substantial political decisions
The successful meeting was aimed to make a contribution to clarifying the challenges that women face in the process of political representation and to indicate possible directions for improving their position in the context of societies in Southeast Europe. The presentations will be published in full in a thematic collection and presented to an international audience by the end of the year.
After the presentation of the papers by the network representatives and a fruitful discussion, the annual internal meeting of the Regional Network for Gender and Politics in Southeastern Europe was held, where the work report for 2024 and the activity plan for 2025 were presented.
