Yesterday’s EU Founding Mothers for today’s women

The study of European integration centres on the blueprint of the Founding Fathers. They led to the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (1952), later to the Treaty of Rome (1957). Women are completely absent when reading and studying the process of European integration. While European integration was undisputedly determined by the motivation and work of the Founding Fathers, it is unfair to downplay the role of women. This project seeks to examine women’s substantive representation to promote their political presence and visibility in EU politics, where women still represent a minority (39% in the European Parliament).