Women Face 130-Year Wait for Political Equality Amid Glass Ceilings and Violence

Journalist and author Núria Varela addressed barriers to women's political leadership during a conference titled *Women, Power and Politics: Current Reflections* in the vestibule of the Consell General, organised by the Xarxa de Dones Parlamentàries.

Varela warned that true equality in top decision-making roles could take 130 years to achieve, citing United Nations data. She highlighted a drop in female heads of state or government from 36 in 2023 to 29 today, and introduced the "culture of simulacrum," where patriarchal structures mask their dominance by pretending equality has been won. The first woman president of a country was elected just 46 years ago, she noted.

She described the "glass ceiling" as invisible mechanisms blocking women's rise to senior positions, often prompting them to leave politics. Parties treat such breakthroughs as equality triumphs rather than norms, with media giving them undue hype. Upon reaching leadership amid crises—the "glass cliff"—women face added pressure. Varela pointed to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party reshuffle, which installed five women in top roles, including Valencian Rebeca Torró as organisation secretary. Sánchez presented it as a push for equality and renewal, but she said it thrust them into party turmoil, challenging them to rebuild trust and prove their leadership brings substantive change beyond token parity.

She likened this to US Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee after Joe Biden's exit, inheriting a struggling campaign. Varela coined "sticky ground" for the struggles women face shifting from private life to politics, exacerbated by family reconciliation demands. Formal parity on lists or executives, she argued, does not guarantee real influence or transformation.

Varela also addressed political violence aimed at deterring women from participating, which has grown more intense recently, along with the personal and professional costs of high office. These themes appear in her book, inspired by the Danish series *Borgen*, featuring Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen), who once tackled a Greenland oil dispute as foreign minister—paralleling current issues for Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Before the event, the secretary general of the Andorran Women's Institute said Varela's book inspired her to rewatch the series, a view echoed by many attendees.