Researchers Carla Cerqueira, Sónia Lamy and Diana Loureiro, a research fellow with the FEM-ABLE Project and PhD student at Lusófona University, have published the article “A Fly in the Ointment: The Barriers to Portuguese Female Political Participation” in the journal Social Sciences by MDPI.
The article, a result of research conducted under the FEM-ABLE Project, is based on eight interviews with women in leadership positions across various areas of the political sphere. It aims to outline and reflect on how several barriers—such as media representation and lack of role models; double standards, stereotypes, and heightened scrutiny; the division between administrative and decision-making roles; and cultural norms—interconnect and subtly sustain the political arena as a predominantly male domain.
Last May, the study was presented by Diana Loureiro at the I Feminist and Education Congress, One Hundred Years Later: Women, Rights, and Citizenship in Building Democratic Societies, held at Colégio Almada Negreiros of NOVA FCSH.