Women in Portuguese politics

This study traces the historical participation of women in Portuguese politics, using administrative data from municipal and party websites and press coverage to track female representation from the 1974 administrative commissions through to the 2017 local elections, alongside national-level data. It examines the impact of Portugal's 2006 gender parity law and compares national and local representation.

In the 2015 national elections, women reached one third of elected Members of the Portuguese Parliament for the first time, following introduction of the parity law in 2006. Representation of women in municipal government, however, remained far below this level. Women in this group showed higher educational attainment and more specialised occupations - notably teaching and management - than men, and left-wing parties were found to invest more in women candidates for local government than right-wing parties.

Despite four decades since Portugal's democratic transition, women's representation in politics - particularly at local level - remains incipient, and the study proposes policy actions to encourage a greater presence of women in local government and their role as active citizens.