The Mothers of the European Union

By Jürgen Klute

When discussing the foundations of today’s European Union (EU), names like Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet are often mentioned first. They are widely recognized as the fathers of the EU’s predecessor, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), established in 1951 under the Schuman Plan.

On International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, one might ask: does the EU have only fathers, or does it also have mothers? Judith Ecker, who has worked for the European Parliament (EP) since 1994 and has been involved in further education there since 2018, has been exploring this question intensively since 2020. She became curious about the early female members of the EP and their influence on European integration and their respective societies. The idea was sparked by a conversation at a family dinner. When her husband and two sons were discussing the EU’s founding fathers, she asked whether the EU had any mothers. Their astonished silence made her realize that even she could name only a few.

That evening’s discussion lingered in her mind, prompting her to embark on a search for the mothers of the European Parliament. Today, Ecker is a recognized expert on the subject and shares her knowledge through her educational work at the EP.

The first women in the European Parliament

Looking back to the founding of the ECSC, Ecker found that from 1952, its work was overseen by a parliamentary assembly comprising members of national parliaments delegated by the six founding states. Among the 78 members of the first assembly, only one was a woman: Marga Klompé (1912-1986) from the Netherlands. A chemist by training, Klompé’s background was well suited to the coal and steel sector. She later became the first female minister in the Netherlands. A Christian Democrat with a German mother, she had participated in the resistance during World War II. Like many of her European colleagues, she was motivated by the desire for post-war reconciliation and the prevention of future conflicts.

Belgium’s first female MEP was Marguerite De Riemaecker-Legot (1913-1977). A member of the parliamentary assembly from 1958 to 1961, she was also one of the first women elected to the Belgian parliament in 1947—at a time when Belgian women could run for office but still lacked the right to vote. She broke new ground as Belgium’s first female minister in 1965. Yet, as Ecker points out, De Riemaecker-Legot has been largely forgotten today. No streets bear her name in Belgium, nor does a biography exist in her honor.

Ecker attributes the scarcity of women in the parliamentary assemblies of the time to the late introduction of women’s suffrage in several ECSC founding countries: France (1944), Italy (1946), and Belgium (1948). As a result, few women were present in national parliaments at the ECSC’s inception. In Luxembourg, women had held voting rights since 1919, yet from 1931 to 1965, none served in the Luxembourg parliament. Meanwhile, post-war Germany was preoccupied with reconstruction—both of the country and its democratic institutions. Additionally, women were traditionally excluded from industries central to the ECSC, such as coal mining and steel production.

These factors contributed to the stark gender imbalance in early European parliamentary assemblies. Between 1952 and the first direct EP elections in 1979, only 31 of the 734 members were women. They were spread across all political groups. Notable figures included the German Social Democrat Käte Strobel (1907-1996), the Luxembourgish liberal Colette Flesch (born 1937), and the Italian communist Nilde Iotti (1920-1999).

Emergence of gender equality policies in the EU

Following the first direct EP elections in 1979, gender equality became a priority. At the initiative of French Socialist Yvette Roudy (1929-2017), the EP established a women’s committee. Initially intended as a temporary body, it became a permanent committee after the 1984 elections and remains active today. Simone Veil (1927-2017), the EP’s first directly elected president and a Holocaust survivor, proposed exempting the committee from the cap on committee memberships to ensure women were not forced to choose between gender equality and other policy areas. Over time, the committee’s work contributed to institutional shifts, and today, women outnumber men in the EU’s administrative workforce. Ecker suggests that the EU’s multilingual nature may have played a role, as translation and interpretation—fields traditionally dominated by women—are essential to its operations.

Additionally, one of the EP’s Vice-Presidents is always responsible for gender equality issues.

Recognition of women in the EU

In 1998, the EU began naming its buildings in Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and Brussels after key political figures. The initial list proposed contained only male names. However, German MEP Claudia Roth, then co-chair of the Greens, submitted an alternative list featuring women’s names. She was supported by British Socialist Pauline Green (born 1948), and together they succeeded in ensuring that EU buildings were named after influential women as well. Roth nominated Simone Veil, but as Veil was still alive at the time, her name was ineligible. Instead, the honor went to Louise Weiss (1893-1983), a French politician, writer, journalist, and feminist. Later, part of the square between the two main EP buildings in Brussels was named Agora Simone Veil, and in Strasbourg, the Parlamentarium was dedicated to her, along with a recently inaugurated office building.

While full gender equality remains a work in progress, the European Parliament has made significant strides. In 1979, only 16.3% of MEPs were women. By the 2019 elections, this figure had risen to 39.5%. However, in the 2024 elections, the proportion of female MEPs declined slightly to 38.75%, likely due to the increased presence of right-wing parties, which tend to have fewer female representatives.

Among the political groups, the Greens/EFA currently lead in gender parity, with women making up 50.9% of their members. The Left and the liberal Renew group follow, with around 45%. In contrast, the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists group has the lowest proportion, with women comprising just a fifth of its MEPs.

Conclusion

Despite room for improvement, the EU outperforms most of its member states in gender representation. Not only is the proportion of women in the EP higher than in most national parliaments, but today, women lead three of the EU’s most significant institutions: Roberta Metsola as President of the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, and Christine Lagarde as President of the European Central Bank. The Council of the European Union, which represents member state governments, remains the exception—mirroring the male-dominated leadership of most national parliaments.

The EU’s journey towards gender equality is ongoing, but the contributions of its pioneering women have left an indelible mark on European integration. Recognizing the EU’s mothers is not just about historical justice—it is about shaping a future where women continue to play an equal role in Europe’s political and social development.