When Does He Speak for She? Male Feminists in the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality

The European Parliament has an unusually high level of female representation, and has long been at the forefront of gender equality issues in Europe. A key body in the Parliament’s advocacy in this area is the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM). While scholarship has looked at the FEMM Committee and its policy work, the question of male representation of women has been largely ignored. This paper will trace the history of male membership of the FEMM committee since its establishment in 1984, and address the debates around the role of men in representing women in the European Parliament. It will then take a closer look at the recent membership of the committee, and ask: who are the men on the FEMM committee? How do they and others see their role in gender equality advocacy? The paper draws on minutes from both committee and plenary sessions of the European Parliament, as well as interviews committee members, and is part of a broader project that seeks to understand the conditions in which men in politics advocate for women’s rights.