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Happy Spring from Push*Back*Lash!
According to a UN Women report, released just before the International Women’s Day in March, nearly one in four governments worldwide reported a backlash against women’s rights in 2024. This troubling trend reminds us how important it is to keep pushing for gender equality.
Why was Push*Back*Lash on stage in January with students from Amsterdam, Budapest and Salzburg? Why are women in Finland consistently more active than men in political consumerism - such as boycots or buycots? Can we learn from the "Forum for Democracy and Gender Equality" about anti-gender backlash online & offline and pushback strategies?
Explore these questions and more in this newsletter! |
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Transformative Legislative Theatre on Gender-Based Violence
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Photo Credit: Kirsten van Santen
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In January 2025, the Theatre of the Oppressed, Vienna (Theater der Unterdrückten Wien, TdU), the University of Salzburg (PLUS), the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) hosted the event “Enacting Safer Spaces at University – A Legislative Theatre on Gender-Based Violence” at the CREA muziekzaal, UvA, Netherlands. "Theatre of the Oppressed" is a theater method that uses storytelling and physical movement to explore social issues and personal experiences. Students participated in this initiative thanks to funding from the Erasmus Blended Intensive Programme (BIP).
The interactive theatre brought students, policymakers and communities together to assess and improve university policies on sexual harassment. Participants proposed concrete actions for safer, more inclusive campuses.
The event successfully bridged the gap between performance and policy, advancing efforts to address gender inequality and counteract anti-gender backlash in academic institutions.
Want to know more? Find the full Policy Report here. |
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Democracy & Women: A Call for Representation in the EU Parliament
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Alexia Katsanidou from GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, was invited to the European Parliament by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) to report on Taking Stock of the EU parliament election 2024. To increase the turnout of women, we need to have more visible female politicians. That was her key message.
Click here for the briefing and further recommendations for better representation of women.
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Push*Back*Lash at the German Social Psychology Meeting in March
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, members of the Push*Back*Lash team from UvA took part in a special online workshop during the German Social Psychology Meeting on the 11th of March. The event - titled “Exchange on the Consideration of Gender-Related Topics in (Social) Psychological Research, Teaching and Learning” - focused on early-career researchers and brought together participants interested in the role of gender in psychological research and education.
During the presentation, the UvA team reflected on the ethics of care in research, and the challenges of doing research on opposition to gender equality within the Push*Back*Lash project. The talk highlighted the relevance of this research but also focused on the impact on researchers. Strategies on how to address the impact were also discussed. |
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NEW: Push*Back*Lash Gender Café
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#1: Future Challenges of the Feminist Movement
How can feminist movements build solidarity without erasing difference? In the first Gender Café conversation, Liza Mügge (University of Amsterdam, UvA), Phillip Ayoub (University College London, UCL), and Joschka Köck (Theater of the Oppressed, Vienna, TdU) explore how to bridge divisions across feminist, queer and racial justice movements while staying grounded in their core values. Watch the café here.
#2: Why Gender Equality Is Everyone’s Issue — Even in a Time of Crisis
From rising unemployment to unpaid care work, in this conversation Alexia Katsanidou (GESIS) and Isabelle Engeli (University of Exeter, UNEXE) explore how gendered inequalities are not peripheral issues. They’re core challenges to justice, democracy, and everyday life. With real-life examples and research insights (including interviews with men in construction), this discussion will make you rethink what gender equality really means - and who it’s for. |
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Cartoons and Publications
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Cartoon #6: Under One Roof – Family Is What You Make It!
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Our 6th Cartoon is illustrating the diverse realities of LGBTQ* parenthood. While visibility for rainbow families has grown across Europe, legal and societal barriers remain. Our cartoon explores these challenges - from outdated parentage laws to increasing hostility against queer families - while celebrating the resilience and love that define all families.
This visual storytelling piece, created in collaboration with illustrator Laura Sistig and researchers from GESIS is part of our broader effort to analyse and counteract anti-gender backlash.
Download the cartoon and accompanying educational materials in English or German here. Share widely and let us know how you use it!
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Cartoon #7: Divide & Conquer – Perspectives on Digital Disconnection
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In Cartoon#7, two visuals focus on oversimplification and miscommunication in the digital space. They are based on research in the Push*Back*Lash project and have been developed by our team from UvA together with artist Beldan Sezen.
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The first cartoon, ‘Divide & Conquer’ highlights that Gender is framed and discussed in various ways. On the one side, people on social media platforms talk about Gender and intersectionality in relation to equality and what it means to create an equal world for all genders. On the other side, people on social media platforms talk about Gender and the associated intersectional topics as an annoyance that obtains too much or unnecessary attention.
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Related to that, the second cartoon, ‘Digital Disconnect’ highlights how actors use Gender to coopt online debates independent of which societal issue is discussed. This emerges in two ways. First, instead of constructive debates about reasons for societal problems and potential solutions, Gender, including affirmative action to increase gender equality, is blamed for all kinds of societal problems. Second, backlash and negative comments towards politicians on social media are gendered. The politician’s gender is used to insult them and devalue their social media posts independent of the topic discussed in the post.
In combination, the two cartoons show how parallel universes exist online in various ways on social media platforms, that is how people there are trying to talk about important social issues but they are lacking a common ground. Debates about gender equality are important and necessary, but often Gender is coopted by actors – including anti-gender movements - as a scapegoat for other pressing societal issues.
The cartoons and the supporting material in English and Dutch are available here. Please distribute widely within your networks!
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Zoe Lefkofridi, Carsten Wegscheider and Nadine Zwiener-Collins (2025) ”Gendered dynamics in representation: Examining candidates’ policy congruence with parties and voters.” Party Politics, 0(0). Online First. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540688251332188
Viktoria Jansesberger and Zoe Lefkofridi (2025) “Gender, politics, and the market: evidence from Finland.” European Journal of Politics and Gender (published online ahead of print 2025). https://doi.org/10.1332/25151088Y2024D000000069 |
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Push*Back*Lash "Forum on Democracy and Gender Equality"
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On the 25th of September, leading academic experts on gender equality and democracy, civil society organisations and policymakers will meet in Salzburg, Austria, to discuss and contextualise project findings and impact, review toolkits, and co-create evidence-based solutions and recommendations. The Forum will feature a series of panels and roundtable discussions with researchers, civil society organizations, and policymakers.
Panel 1: Anti-Gender Backlash in Public Spaces (Online & Offline) & Pushback Strategies
Panel 2: Anti-Gender Backlash at the Discourse, Policy & Elite Levels
Panel 3: Gender Café – Interactive Session with evidence-based & artistic tools to counteract anti-gender backlash
Have a lovely day!
Your Push*Back*Lash Team |
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This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101061687. |
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UK consortium partners funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant numbers 10051932 and 10048433].
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Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Research Executive Agency, or UK Research and Innovation. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. |
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