WOMEN's REPRESENTATION IN LOCAL POLITICS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: WOMEN MAYORS IN MODERN ROMANIA

The article attempts to analyze examples of women's representation in local Romanian politics and its role in the modern politics of the country. The author draws attention to the socio-demographic characteristics of female mayors of large Romanian cities in the last decade, and to the role of gender quotas in achieving gender equality in the political sphere of the country. The author uses printed publications, data from the websites of city halls, and official reports to analyze the social portraits of female mayors. The author comes to the conclusion that for more than a hundred years of the presence of Romanian women in local politics, their number in modern Romania is small compared to the European background. Female representation is gradually expanding, but it is difficult to conclude that there is a strong trend. The author reveals the image of a female mayor as a professional politician with a long political career, and a successful career and a high level of education preceding the entry into politics, a socially approved family model, and having support in the form of a party behind her. However, at the same time we note that the cases of female city mayors are an exception against the backdrop of extensive male representation.