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“Gender policies after the rise of the far-right: the impact of VOX party in Andalusia (Spain)” 

Patterns of democratic backsliding for gender equality can be identified in different areas (social, legal, political, knowledge-related, cultural, etc.) and are connected to the agency of a variety of actors. Populist radical right parties (PRRP) are prominent -along with anti-gender movements- in openly questioning the necessity to undertake gender equality policies. Their active opposition to equality measures in Europe and elsewhere is having an impact on the democratic commitment to the liberal value of equality.

This presentation addresses the case of Spain, a country that has witnessed only recently the rise of Vox party, a PRRP with a strong anti-gender stance. It specifically focuses on the case of Andalusia, a Spanish region governed since January 2019 by a coalition of two mainstream right parties (Popular Party and Citizens) relying on Vox’s parliamentary support.

Julia Espinosa-Fajardo is Lecturer at the Sociology Area of the University of Cádiz (Spain), where she also coordinates the Iberoamerican Observatory of Equality and Gender Public Policies. Her research interests are related to gender and equality policies, their implementation and evaluation in the European Union and in Latin America. She has focused her activity on analysing how gender and equality issues are addressed in public policies at international, national and local level. Currently her research covers Gender, Intersectionality and Public Policy with special emphasis on the study of emergent oppositions and resistances.

Alba Alonso is Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Her main area of research refers to gender and politics, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of equality policies, the study of federalism and territorial dynamics from a gender perspective, and more recently, the analysis of the radical right and the opposition to feminism. She has been a member of the QUING Project as well as of three EU-wide studies launched by the European Institute for Gender Equality. Her more recent work has appeared in journals like Social Politics, Politics and Gender and the European Journal of Women’s Studies (ORCID 0000-0001-6917-3987).

15 January, 12.00-13.00,

Further information and Zoom link: laura.cleton@uantwerpen.be​