Women Leadership at the Apex. The Distinctiveness of Urban Women Mayors in Europe

Women occupy leadership positions at all levels o  government. While the topic has been extensively investigated and re  erred to national legislatures, other venues remain under-researched. By  ocusing on the mayoral o  ce, this article aims at contributing to  ll the research gap regarding the local government arena and speci  cally executive positions. Drawing on a survey o  around 2,600 European mayors, the study investigates whether women and male mayors difer in their social backgrounds, recruitment patterns and policy priorities. The resulting identikit o  the ‘Urban European Woman Mayor’ points to important diferences in the career path con  rming the diferences in policy priorities.