Why the European Parliament has a better gender balance than national parliaments

Across Europe there is a wide variation in the percentage of female representatives in national parliaments, with the gender balance typically skewed toward male representatives. But what can the European Parliament tell us about mechanisms for ensuring a better gender balance? Jessica Fortin-Rittberger and Berthold Rittberger write that there is a clear ‘gender gap’ between the European Parliament and national parliaments, with the European Parliament consistently containing a higher percentage of female representatives than national parliaments overall. The exact reasons for this are unclear, however, and may relate to the candidate recruitment procedures employed by political parties.