Gender Equality in the Political Sphere of Cyprus

This university thesis investigates the reasons for women's underrepresentation in the political sphere of Cyprus, based on the experiences of eight women politicians from a wide political spectrum, examining gender-equality policies from the UN and EU and Cyprus's gender-quota strategy.

Participants identified culture and stereotypes, ineffective policy implementation by government, and a lack of state childcare infrastructure as key barriers to women's political participation. The study also traces how Cypriot women's social roles shifted historically — from mothers/wives, to peacebuilders during conflicts, to strikers demanding implementation of UN/EU gender-equality policies. Participants were divided on whether gender quotas would succeed, noting the strategy risks stigmatising women as a vulnerable group in need of assistance.

The thesis concludes that women's absence from decision-making in Cyprus stems from a set of interlinked causes that are hard to resolve through policy implementation alone.