Pursuing ‘full gender equality’ in the European Commission: the case of a constrained selector

Numerous European leaders have formed cabinets that contain equal numbers of women and men. But forming a gender-equal team at the center of the European Union remains a particularly difficult undertaking. This article analyses the case of Ursula von der Leyen, who, in 2019, set out to form a gender-equal college of commissioners. It analyses why von der Leyen’s first leadership project did not initially succeed and assesses the longer-term prospects of gender equality in the European Commission. Employing a framework drawn from studies of Commission leadership, commissioner selection, and gendered executives, it conceptualizes Commission presidents-elect as constrained selectors. Even with personal dispositions that support gender equality and access to powerful institutional resources, treaty-based rules and situational settings obstruct the ability of presidents-elect to achieve their representational goals. In the future, even presidents-elect who are strongly committed to gender equality will likely struggle to achieve fully balanced colleges.