The gender politics of populist parties in Southern Europe

Figures & data

Table 1. Dimensions and issues of party-based gender politics.

Dimension	Issues
Cultural	Same-sex adoption; body covering (burqas, niqabs, etc.); conscientious objection; sex and gender education; feminism; gender identity and sexual orientation; homophobia and transphobia; honour culture; household work; nuclear family; reproductive rights (abortion, artificial insemination, contraception, etc.); same-sex marriage/unions
Legal	child custody; feminicide; gender violence (rape, sexual violence, etc.); human trafficking; prostitution; sexual harassment
Political	gender quotas; representation in public office
Socioeconomic	birth-rate; childcare; financial incentives (credit, loans, etc.); housing; labour market; life-work balance; parental leave; parental responsibility; pay gap; single-parent family; taxation

Figure 1. Gender Equality Index (2013–2022). Longitudinal trends in Italy, Spain, and the EU. Source: EIGE – European Institute for Gender Equality. Available from: https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2022. Note: The Gender Equality Index gives the EU and Member States a score from 0 to 100, where 100 means the achievement of full gender equality. For visual clarity, the figure shows only the range from 50 to 80.

Table 2. Populist party frames on gender politics, scores per dimension, Italy and Spain.

Party	Cultural	Legal	Political	Socioeconomic
Fratelli d’Italia	+	(+)	–	+
Lega	(+)	+	–	+
Movimento 5 Stelle	(+)	–	–	(+)
Podemos	+	+	+	+
VOX	+	+	(+)	+

Note: + = core (present and salient); (+) = not core (present in party programme but not salient); – = absent.

Table 3. Overview of populist party frames on gender issues, Italy and Spain.

Dimensions	Parties and frames
	FdI		Lega		M5S		Podemos		VOX
	Diagnostic	Prognostic	Diagnostic	Prognostic	Diagnostic	Prognostic	Diagnostic	Prognostic	Diagnostic	Prognostic
Cultural	Gender ideology Surrogacy	Pro-life Natural family	Gender ideology	Natural family Freedom of education	Gender violence Hate speech and bullyism	Education to gender equality	Neoliberalism Patriarchy	Gender equality Positive discrimination Pro-choice Role of women in culture and sport Non-sexist communication Prevention campaigns Feminist constitution Feminist education Historical memory LGBTI movement	Moral crisis Abortion/Culture of death Surrogacy Gender ideology Demographic crisis Gender equality Inclusive language	Natural family Pro-life Freedom of education Elimination positive discrimination
Legal	–	Shared child custody	Gender violence Fathers’ rights	Harsh punish­ment Shared child custody	–	–	Sexist violence Ley de Violencia de Genero LGBTI-phobia Human trafficking	Improvement Ley de Violencia de Genero Law on gender identity Adoption regulations Access to motherhood for lesbian couples Abortion rights for minors Consentient sex Indenisation LGBTI people	Gender ideology Ley de Violencia de Genero Children’s rights Positive discrimina­tion Prostitution Human trafficking	Shared child custody Parents’ rights Reform Ley de Violencia de Genero Intrafamilial policy Elimination positive discrimination
Political	–	–	–	–	–	–	Discrimination in army and security forces Gender gap in academia Gender gap in politics (Equality Law)	Gender mainstreaming Infrastructures dealing with gender equality and LGBTI equality Gender quotas in public offices Promotion women in leading positions Intra-party feminist practices Minimum 50% of women in electoral lists and organisation	Positive discrimina­tion	Elimination gender quotas Elimination Equality Department
Socioeconomic	Economic crisis Demo­graphic crisis	Childcare Life-work balance Financial incentives Parental leave Taxation Pension scheme Labour market Housing for young couples Incentives for children’s products Maternity allowance	Demo­graphic crisis	Taxation Financial incentives Pension scheme Life-work balance Childcare	Demographic crisis Inefficient health system Care/domestic work	Taxation Financial incentives Housing	Economic crisis PP and PSOE’s reforms Crisis of care system Labour market Life-work balance	Parental leave Labour market Financial incentives Housing Development aid programmes targeting gender Nursing homes for LGBTI people	Care/domestic work Economic crisis Funding for NGOs working on gender violence Life-work balance	Fiscal incentives Housing Taxation Pension scheme Parental leave Labour market Tracking funding for NGOs

 

Name	Party	Type of document	Length of document	Year
1. Le sfide per l’Italia	Fratelli d’Italia	Manifesto	13 pages	2013
2. La voce che unisce l’Italia	Fratelli d’Italia	Manifesto	5 pages	2018
3. Programma elezioni europee	Fratelli d’Italia	Manifesto	15 pages	2019
4. Programma elezioni politiche 2013	Lega Nord	Manifesto	11 pages	2013
5. Salvini Premier: La rivoluzione del buonsenso	Lega	Manifesto	74 pages	2018
6. Programma	Movimento 5 Stelle	Manifesto	15 pages	2013
7. Programma affari costituzionali	Movimento 5 Stelle	Manifesto	562 pages	2018
8. Continuare x cambiare anche in Europa	Movimento 5 Stelle	Manifesto	22 pages	2019
9. Queremos, sabemos, Podemos	Podemos	Manifesto	324 pages	2015
10. 26 J	Podemos	Manifesto	99 pages	2016
11. Las razones siguen intactas	Podemos	Manifesto	119 pages	2019
12. Documento de feminismos	Podemos	Thematic document	39 pages	2019
13. Documento ético	Podemos	Thematic document	12 pages	2019
14. Documento organizativo	Podemos	Thematic document	104 pages	2019
15. Documento político	Podemos	Thematic document	47 pages	2019
16. Manifiesto fundacional	VOX	Manifesto	8 pages	2014
17. Compromiso por la vidas y los valores	VOX	Thematic document	13 pages	2014
18. Tu voz en el congreso: Programa electoral	VOX	Manifesto	106 pages	2015
19. Asuntos sociales. Capítulo 1: Derecho a la vida y aborto cero	VOX	Thematic document	14 pages	2015
20. Asuntos sociales. Capítulo 2 y 3: Familia, demografia y natalidad	VOX	Thematic document	10 pages	2015
21. Asuntos sociales. Capítulo 4: Politica de igualdad	VOX	Thematic document	4 pages	2015
22. Asuntos sociales. Capítulo 5: Violencia de genero	VOX	Thematic document	7 pages	2015
23. Asuntos sociales. Capítulo 6: Custodia compartida	VOX	Thematic document	6 pages	2015
24. Hacer España grande otra vez	VOX	Manifesto	86 pages	2016
25. 100 medidas para la España viva	VOX	Manifesto	33 pages	2019