The Politicisation of Women in Politics

What is the point of having women in positions of power? Are these women bringing about

equality? Can these women improve the conditions for women? Have they been elected to

show that women's roles in society have improved? In what has been a milestone year for

women in politics, many of these questions have been raised.

Currently, 30 countries have elected or appointed women to heads of state positions.

Additionally, multiple countries have elected their first female presidents including; Italy with

Giorgia Meloni, Peru electing Dina Boluarte and Hungary with Katalin Novak.

For my Global Politics IA, I wanted to discover more about the representation of women in

politics and began my research by educating myself about some of the biggest female figures

in politics. As a result of my educational background and personal beliefs, I was certain that

female representation was essential and that any example of female representation in the

highest forms of government was inherently a good thing. However, my understanding was

challenged after stumbling upon the fascinating reputation that Giorgia Meloni has earned.

In the 2019 speech that would later come to define her, Giorgia Meloni announced, ‘I am

Giorgia, I am woman, I am mother, I am Italian, I am Christian’. Now, she is all of these things

and Italy’s first female PM, with her party managing to win 26% of the vote. Now leading a

coalition government of the other right-wing populist.

From early on in her career, Meloni utilised her femininity with great success, with much of her

identity shaped around motherhood and being female. Additionally, in press ops, she would

often stand out as her office was adorned with images of her daughter and religious figures,

including Mother Teresa, as opposed to her male colleagues whose desks contained fascist

memorabilia. This difference, which allowed her to stand out from her colleagues, was crucial

in her acceleration to power, as she gained the support of a wider percentage of the

population, specifically women.

Meloni’s rise was something of interest to me. Her career was accelerated after being spotted

by Fabio Rampelli, he chose her to become the face of a new generation of conservative

politicians in Italy. She quickly became identifiable as the ‘blond, blue-eyed, petite, easy-going

and witty’ politician, quickly drawing comparisons to the former British PM Margaret Thatcher.

It appears that Thatcherism has impacted her political philosophy.

Meloni saw a swift rise after her previous allies joined with the centre-left last year to form a

unity government. This left her party, Brothers of Italy as the major opposition party. Following

unpopular COVID decisions by the government, which the Brother of Italy didn’t have to

defend, Meloni emerged as an increasingly popular politician. Her hardline message,

advertising a pro-West philosophy and vowing to boost self-defence spending and stand up

to Russia and China, led to her increased popularity.

Whilst this does devalue the considerable success Meloni has had in her career, a large part

of her success can be attributed to her novelty value, especially in the boys club that Italian

politics has predominantly been. She was indicating that gender in politics is now being

politicised to the advantage of a select few. Meloni sees her femininity as an advantage, as

she’s been “often underestimated”.

Meloni’s victory is symbolic, and one expects it to provide the foundation for greater

acceptance of females in politics. However, her presence may not have the intended effect

that people are hoping for; Meloni has been openly opposed to diversity quotas to increase

female numbers in Parliament, saying that women need to get to the top through merit. Whilst

this may be fair, Meloni doesn’t seem to recognise that her situation isn’t reflective of the

entirety of women in Italy. Unless Meloni assists with the foundations that will help achieve

equality of opportunity, her being in power may act as a suppressor to the political

advancement of other females.

Most recognise that representation is essential, as it ensures that policies are implemented

that actively benefit certain groups within society. Although Meloni’s policies have been

harmful towards certain groups of women, specifically immigrant women, gay women, and

women wishing to obtain an abortion. Raising the question of whether her election be

considered a feminist victory. If it is not, what does this say about the feminist movement?

Having a female PM does provide the basis for greater tolerance and acceptance of women

in positions of power. Even with her more controversial stance, she hasn’t been protected

from the sexist comments that plague most female politicians' careers. Her appointment could

act as a motivation to spur more women to get involved in politics, and be a role model that

young girls can look up to.

Despite this, it seems that her appointment will also bring about the continuation of gender

roles in Italy. As Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State once said, the Far Right has often

liked female leaders as they are “often the first to support the basic pillars of male powers and

privileges”. As we can understand, it's easier for female candidates to convincingly argue

against policies that benefit women, by utilising their female identity.

Whether you support her or not, there’s no denying that Meloni has recognised the benefits

that being a woman in politics has, and has parlayed that into a highly successful political

career. As she is placed in this position, we will have to wait and see how she continues to

use her position of power to change the future of female politicians.