The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen: Gender, Leadership, Policies, and Crises

Edited Volume / Oxford University Press (2025)

Ursula von der Leyen (VDL) became the first-ever female president of the European Commission in 2019. This volume will provide the first comprehensive evaluation of the European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen (2019-2024) from a gender perspective.

The volume analyzes the multifaceted role gender has played in von der Leyen’s leadership, the Commission’s agenda-setting and policymaking, and its responses to European crises. Our work highlights that the VDL Commission demonstrated resolute leadership in face of imminent crises. Yet, its effectiveness was constrained when addressing long-term EU issues, particularly gender, LGBTIQ, and racial and ethnic equality and equity.

Integrating analyses of gender, leadership, policies, and crises, the volume is the first comprehensive account of the VDL Commission.

Introduction: The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen—A Critical Actorness Approach
Gabriele Abels; Johanna Kantola; Emanuela Lombardo; Henriette Müller

Table of Contents

Part I Conceptual and Biographical Approaches to ''A Union of Equality''
1: A ''Union of Equality'': A New Doctrine for the European Union
Agnès Hubert; Sophie Jacquot
2: Words and Deeds?: The von der Leyen Commission's Defense of Equality in Times of Anti-Gender Opposition
Emanuela Lombardo; Lucrecia Rubio Grundell
3: ''Through the Side Door'': Ursula von der Leyen's Unconventional Path to Power
Joyce Marie Mushaben

Part II The von der Leyen Commission: Gender, Structure, and Leadership
4: Political Leadership, (Gender) Equality, and Crises: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Agenda-Setting
Henriette Müller
5: The Long (and Still Incomplete) March to Gender Parity: von der Leyen I in Historical Perspective
Sara Connolly; Hussein Kassim; Josefine Lynggaard; Andrew Thompson; Pierre Alayrac
6:Von der Leyen's Gender-Balanced Team: A New Way of Operating in the College of Commissioners?
John A. Scherpereel; Michel Mitri; Alida Schreuders
7: Gendering the Interinstitutional Landscape: Relations of the von der Leyen Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
Gabriele Abels;Johanna Kantola

Part III Policies and Politics under the Equality Lens: The Six Priorities of the von der Leyen Commission
8: The European Green Deal Through an Equalities Lens: A Missed Opportunity?
Gill Allwood; Annica Kronsell
9: An Economy that Works for the People: Social and Economic Policy
Paul Copeland; Anna Elomäki
10: A Europe Fit for the Digital Age: Combating Online Violence Against Women
Olga Jurasz
11: Toward a More Gender-Equal EU Migration Policy?: Gender and Sexuality in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum
Amandine Le Bellec; Jane Freedman
12: A Stronger Europe in the World: Is von der Leyen's ''Geopolitical Turn'' Fostering or Hindering Gender Justice?
Hanna L. Mühlenhoff; Toni Haastrup; Roberta Guerrina
13: The Citizenwashing of von der Leyen's ''New Push for European Democracy'': The Conference on the Future of Europe and the Commission's European Citizens' Panels
Alvaro Oleart

Part IV Crises and Responses: The Commission in Turbulent Times
14: Gendering the EU's COVID-19 Pandemic Response: The Recovery and Resilience Facility
Muireann O'Dwyer; Stefanie Wöhl
15: The Commission as a Critical Actor for Strengthening Supranational Rule of Law Enforcement?: The Mixed Record of the von der Leyen Commission
Lisa H. Anders; Sonja Priebus
16: EU Values in Gendered Violence Legislation: The Directive on Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence,
Valentine Berthet; Lise Rolandsen Agustín
17: Facing Unprecedented Challenges: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Russia's War in Ukraine
Ingeborg Tömmel
18: ''Free to Be Yourself in the EU'': The von der Leyen Commission and LGBTIQ Equality in the Eastern Partnership Countries
Maryna Shevtsova

Part V Looking Ahead: Toward A ''Union of Equality''?
Conclusions: Political Leadership and the Differential von der Leyen Effect in European Policy-Making
Henriette Müller; Michael W. Bauer

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