October 29th: GEOM NL 2025 will observe the upcoming elections in The Netherlands from a distinct gender perspective
As the 29th October elections near, Gender Concerns International will provide critical assessments of the Dutch electoral process through the Gender Election Observation Mission Netherlands 2025 (GEOM-NL 2025). The mission focuses on how democratic practices intersect with gender equality and aims to strengthen both the Dutch political landscape and wider European debates on inclusive governance.
Previous missions highlighted notable progress: in 2021, 59 women (39.3%) were elected to Parliament—above the EU average of 28%. Ten of the 37 parties were led by women, and 53.6% of polling stations were headed by women, marking significant strides in gender parity.
However, challenges remain. Women's representation still falls short of their 51% share of the population, and top political roles remain male-dominated. GEOM has previously recommended gender quotas, alternating male and female candidates on party lists, and targeted support for women—recommendations that remain relevant today.
Building on missions in 2017 and 2021, GEOM-NL 2025 will continue monitoring gender parity and assess any changes to the electoral process that may affect women’s political participation.
We are content with the emerging trend set by many political parties in this direction. The candidate lists for the 29th October Dutch Elections demonstrates both progress and persistent gaps in gender representation. Political parties like D66 achieved exact parity with 50% male and female candidates, while some parties such as GroenLinks-PvdA (53,8% women) and Partij voor de Dieren (56% women, 12% non-binary) put forwardwomen-majority or gender-diverse lists.
Conversely, many right-wing parties finalized a heavily male-dominated candidate list. Like the Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) fielded only 27,5% female candidates, Forum voor Democratie 26% and JA21 just 15,2%. Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) remains the only party with a 100% male candidate list.
Several other parties approached gender balance and it is an encouraging tred. as shown by Volt 46,5% women and 2,3% non-binary candidates, the CDA (40% women).However DENK and the ChristenUnie (both 34% women) fell short of gender parity.