Young Councilwomen in Spain: Evolution of Political Engagement and Political Identity Construction

International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences Volume 14, Issue 1, 28th March 2025, Pages 20-39 The Author(s) 2025 http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.15117 Young Councilwomen in Spain: Evolution of Political Engagement and Political Identity Construction Ana Beatriz Pinheiro e Silva1, Águeda Parra Jiménez2, María Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija2 & Manuel de la Mata-Benítez2 1) Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2) Universidad de Sevilla , Spain Abstract The participation of women in legislative bodies has increased over recent decades. Despite this, however, women are still underrepresented at all political levels. The aim of this paper is to explore the political commitment and political identity construction of young women in Spain, by analysing the evolution of certain female members of the Spanish political party Podemos. The study followed a qualitative design, using the biographical method, with a series of semi-structured interviews being conducted to chart the evolution of councilwomen from this left-wing political party. The results were analysed on the basis of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of human development. The findings indicate that the development of participants’ political commitment was influenced by factors from the microsystem and macrosystem. This piece of research aimed to contribute to the study of gender, youth, identity and political commitment, in order to expand our understanding of the life stories of young women who stand for election to local councils, taking the diversity of their trajectories and experiences into account also. Keywords Political commitment, political identity, young women, councilwomen, gender To cite this article: Pinheiro e Silva, A., Parra Jiménez, A., Sánchez-Queija, I. & de la MataBenítez, M. (2025). Young councilwomen in Spain: evolution of political engagement and political identity construction. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1), pp. 20-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.15117 Corresponding author(s): Águeda Parra-Jiménez Contact address: [email protected] International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences Volumen 14, Número 1, 28 de marzo, 2025, Páginas 20-39 Autor(s) 2025 http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.15117 Jóvenes Concejalas en España: Trayectorias de Compromiso Político y Construcción de identidad Política Ana Beatriz Pinheiro e Silva1, Águeda Parra Jiménez2, María Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija2 y Manuel de la Mata-Benítez2 1) Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 2) Universidad de Sevilla , España Resumen La participación de las mujeres en los órganos legislativos ha aumentado en las últimas décadas. Sin embargo, a pesar de esto, las mujeres todavía están subrepresentadas en todos los niveles políticos. El objetivo de este artículo es estudiar el compromiso y la construcción de la identidad política de mujeres jóvenes en España, analizando la trayectoria de mujeres concejalas del partido político español Podemos. Para ello se realizó un estudio cualitativo, utilizando el método biográfico, mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas sobre la trayectoria de mujeres concejalas de ese grupo político de izquierda. Los resultados fueron analizados a partir de la teoría ecológica del desarrollo humano de Bronfenbrener. Los resultados evidenciaron que el compromiso político de las participantes se desarrolló como un proceso que ha tenido influencias de factores que corresponden, tanto al nivel del microsistema, como del macrosistema. La investigación ha pretendido contribuir al campo de estudio de los temas de género, juventud, identidad y compromiso político con el objetivo de comprender las trayectorias vitales de las mujeres jóvenes que buscan más representatividad en la política municipal, teniendo en cuenta la diversidad de esas trayectorias y experiencias. Palabras clave Compromiso político, identidad política, mujeres jóvenes, concejalas, género Cómo citar este artículo: Pinheiro e Silva, A., Parra Jiménez, A., Sánchez-Queija, I. & de la Mata-Benítez, M. (2025). Jóvenes Concejalas en España: trayectorias de compromiso político y construcción de identidad política. International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1), pp.20-39. http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/rimcis.15117 Correspondencia Autores(s): Águeda Parra-Jiménez Dirección de contacto: [email protected] Pinheiro e Silva et al. – Young councilwomen in Spain 22 n different contexts and different historical moments, young people have responded to social concerns by building their own repertoires and diverse forms of participation. It is important to understand the process by which people go from being spectators to actively participating in politics (Medeiros, 2012, p. 19). In other words, it is necessary to study, research and reflect on political commitment and identity in different scenarios, contexts, historical moments and social situations. This is particularly true in the case of women, since very few studies to date have sought to explore the participation and commitment of women in institutional politics (Espí-Hernández, 2017) and further research and analyses are required. The main aim of this paper is to explore the commitment and political identity construction of young councilwomen in Spain, by analysing the evolution of certain female members of the Spanish political party Podemos. Podemos was founded in 2014 by intellectuals and people linked to social movements (Bringel, 2015). Its creation was heavily influenced by the movement known as the Indignados, also known as the 15-M Movement, which was an antiausterity initiative that developed in Spain in 2011 and was mainly led by young people. We selected Podemos as the object of research in the present study because it was a young party with roots in social movements, and because feminism is one of its priority issues. Women’s Political Participation and Commitment The participation of women in legislative bodies has increased over recent decades. Despite this, however, women are still underrepresented at all political levels, from parliament (InterParliamentary Union, 2020) to local councils. Recently, efforts to increase female political representation and the fight for parity as a means of reducing the gender gap in spaces of institutional power have become a priority in the agenda of feminist groups and some political parties. One example in Spain is Organic Law 3/2007, of 22 March, which aims to increase the number of women on electoral lists by establishing an obligatory quota of 40%. This piece of legislation affects not only national and regional parliaments, but local councils also and has resulted in a slight re-balancing of gender among local councillors, although councilmen continue to outnumber councilwomen. For example, in 2015, councilwomen in Spain reached the record representation level of 35%, which while being an improvement, is still nevertheless a far cry from true parity (Espí-Hernández 2017). Studies on the political commitment and participation of women in institutional politics have focused mainly on a number of different issues. Most research has focused on the low level of women’s representation in legislative and executive bodies (Sundström & Stockemer, 2015), mainly national parliaments. However, few studies to date have sought to explore women’s representation in local institutions (McGregor & Webster, 2017) and the repercussions of this, despite the fact that this field is attracting increasing interest (Sundström & Stockemer, 2015). Due to the specific nature of local politics, women’s representation in local councils is also linked to a number of other questions, such as why so few councilwomen become Members of Parliament (Allen, 2013), the interactions that occur in local politics regarding women’s status in regional institutions (Rincker, 2009), the correlation between the presence of women in politics and male politicians’ commitment to gender equality (Kokkonen & Wängnerud, 2017), and election systems, competition in elections and gender stereotypes (Bauer, 2020). Few I ore m ipsu m dolo r sit amet , cons ectet ur adipi scin g elit, sed do eius mod RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1) 23 studies have analysed the specific intersection between youth and gender in the public sphere (Smith & Holecz, 2020) and institutional politics, and fewer still have focused on the disposition towards political commitment of young women who are elected to local councils and the influences to which they are exposed (the object of the present study). Upon entering institutional politics, young women face a twofold challenge in the form of prejudices associated with both age and gender, since most of the people occupying the spaces of power they are entering are middle-aged men. Consequently, in addition to studying the representation of women, it is also important to analyse their ability to contribute not only to questioning current hegemonic references, but also to constructing women’s identity itself (Mignolo, 2008). Identity and Political Participation Today, young adulthood is a fundamental stage in identity construction (Arnett, 2000; Schwartz et al., 2013). Although traditional studies by Erikson posited that most people consolidate their identity during adolescence (Erikson, 1968), the social changes of recent decades have prompted a delay in the acquisition of adult roles (Arnett, 2004), the result being that identity commitment is currently achieved, in most areas, during the early years of adulthood (Luyckx et al., 2013). During this period, most people define their identity in different fields: romantic partner, profession, religion and, of course, politics. Within the same traditional theory developed by Erikson, and from a narrative perspective of identity, McAdams (McAdams, 2001; McAdams & Olson, 2010) viewed identity as a life story defined by setting, scenes, characters, plot, and themes. As it is constantly being rewritten, this life story is much more than a mere individual construction. Rather, it is built on the basis of a ‘menu of stories’ offered by the sociocultural context in which the individual in question develops. According to this perspective, in order to analyse the way in which the construction of identity and political commitment is articulated, it is important to go beyond the purely individual level of analysis to explore the context of social relationships in which we, as human beings, are immersed. These social interactions should be analysed in different contexts, with the family, educational and peer environments being of particular importance. Exploring these contexts involves defining different levels of analysis, the individual and combined influence of which may facilitate or hinder the acquisition of a political identity and active political commitment. In this sense, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) offers insight into how different planes or levels of social and cultural influence are integrated and articulated in human development. Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory provides a comprehensive framework for understanding political socialization by highlighting the importance of both immediate and broader environmental influences. Cultural factors and socioecological contexts play crucial roles in shaping political behaviours and attitudes. This theory takes into account the influence of cultural and social factors, analysing how family education or participation in religious observance affect the microsystems within which young people acquire political engagement Pinheiro e Silva et al. – Young councilwomen in Spain 24 behaviours (Wicks & Warren, 2014). Moreover, its multisystemic approach considers the direct and indirect influences of multiple levels of the environment, highlighting the role that settings such as education play in political socialization (Brezicha, 2019). This theory will serve as the basis for our analysis in the present study, as it enables us to discern the relationships and reciprocal interactions that exist between a developing individual and their ecological environment. According to this approach, the microsystem is the environment in which the individual establishes their closest interactions, such as those they engage in with their family, schoolmates, friends and/or work colleagues. The mesosystem is linked to interrelations between an individual’s closest dimensions, in which they participate actively. It refers to interrelations between two or more microsystems, such as family and friends, for example. The exosystem refers to the environment in which the individual does not participate actively, but which nevertheless affects them in some way. The macrosystem is linked to general factors that exist in different cultures and affect or determine the structures and activities of society. It is associated with the characteristic and inherent values, beliefs, ideologies, habits and lifestyles of different societies and cultures. The present study analyses how these dimensions and their interconnections influenced the evolution towards political commitment of the councilwomen interviewed. The principal aim of this study is to understand how young councilwomen develop their political commitment and construct their political identity in Spain, from the perspective of the participants themselves. Secondary aims are to analyse (1) how they articulate their identity as young women and their decision to engage in politics; (2) what were the mediating factors in this process, or in other words, what people or social institutions influenced the development of their political identity and their decision to actively engage in politics; and (3) how their personal lives are linked to their political careers, what tensions exist in this process and how they are resolved. Method Participants The study was focused on young women who decided to engage in politics at the local/municipal level. For this purpose, we chose councilwomen of a new political party (Podemos) due the centrality of feminism in its ideology. Given the qualitative character of the study, the selection of the participants was purposeful. Rather than on statistical representativeness, it was guided by a search for information richness and an in-depth understanding of the process of becoming politically committed (Staller, 2021). At the same time, we adopted a narrative-biographical approach, aimed at understanding how the participants articulated their identity as young women and their decision to engage in politics. This kind of methods are typically applied with a very small number of participants (Chase, 2005). After that we applied the linking method (Feixa, 2018) to access the participants that were willing to get involved in the study. Finally, four young councilwomen accepted. Each of them was considered a different case, varying in sociodemographic characteristics such as education RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1) 25 background, political involvement of their families, marital status and maternity. They had diverse life-stories and different trajectories of political engagement. All were elected for the first time to their local councils in 2015, when they were 23/24 years of age. At the time of the interview, they were aged 27/28 years, two were mothers and three had completed a university degree. Table 1 outlines the sociodemographic characteristics of all four participants. Pseudonyms have been used to protect their identity. Table 1 Sociodemographic data Pertaining to the Councilwomen Age when elected to the local council Age at time of interview Children at time of interview Education level Lidia 23 years 27 years No Undergraduate degree Ángeles 34 years 38 years No Secondary education Carlota 30 years 34 years Yes Undergraduate degree Marga 27 years 31 years Yes Undergraduate degree Instrument A qualitative study was designed with semi-structured interviews, in accordance with the biographical method (Chase, 2005; Feixa, 2018; Staller, 2021). This method enables the process of constructing political identity and commitment to be explored through biographies. To respond to the study aims, an interview script was developed around five themes, settings or microsystems: 1Family; 2School, university and other educational experiences; 3Career/Profession/Job; 4Friends/Socialisation; and 5 -Political activism/Political career. Interviews were divided into three sections. The first aimed to identify the most salient events/moments/situations that, throughout participants’ lives, had contributed to them becoming councilwomen. To this end, interviewees were asked to complete table 2. The second section featured the following questions, which aimed to enable interviewees to construct their own narratives of this process and reflect on it: How did you get where you are today? And how did the events/situations you have described contribute to your political evolution towards becoming a councilwoman? Depending on the responses given to these questions, during the third part of the interview we explored any of the five settings described above that had not come up spontaneously so far. Finally, interviewees were asked about the changes generated by their experience as councilwomen, as well as about the future. The questions included in the script were flexible and open-ended. Their aim was to establish a certain degree of order and to elicit information about the themes and topics deemed important for answering the research questions posed. Pinheiro e Silva et al. – Young councilwomen in Spain 26 Procedure Using the snowball method (Feixa, 2018), we contacted four councilwomen serving in three different municipalities in the province of Sevilla (Spain). The mean duration of the interviews was 40 minutes and all were conducted by the lead author of this paper. Data Analysis The data were analysed using template analysis (Brooks, et al., 2015), and considering the levels established in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979). The analysis was therefore organised around three key areas, corresponding to three successive phases. The first was the selection of events-moments that participants believed had been important in their evolution towards political commitment as councilwomen. In accordance with template analysis, these events were established as themes (e.g., the abuse suffered by one participant’s mother, family conversations about the political situation, and instances of social injustice). When explaining the events they selected, some participants identified more specific themes, which were viewed as sub-themes, since they fit within the framework or the events-moments. The second phase of analysis was aimed at identifying the settings or scenarios that influenced participants’ evolution towards political commitment and the construction of their political identity. These scenarios were defined by the research team in accordance with the events identified by participants and the reasons they gave for having done so, and followed the levels established in the ecological systems theory of development. More specific subthemes were identified within these themes also, referring to situations narrated by participants in these scenarios. The third phase of analysis focused on determining how being young women impacted participants’ evolution and political identity. Here, we analysed the intersection between age, gender and political commitment as key elements of participants’ identities, taking the results of previous stages into account, along with the responses given by participants to questions linked to how they have changed during their evolution and how they view their development in the future. Results In this section we present the results of the three analysis phases described above. Analysis Phase 1: Key Events or Moments Table 2 outlines the events/moments/situations identified in the first section of the interviews, along with participants’ age at the time, the reason why they are important, and the key people or facts involved. The situations described occurred in the family microsystem (conversations at home, separation, abuse suffered by their mother), the exosystem (hardship suffered by local families) and the macrosystem (the 15-M Movement, socioeconomic environment triggered by the 2015 financial crisis). RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1) 27 Table 2 Events Identified by Lidia and Ángeles Key events/ moments/situation s Age at which they occurred or approximate date Reason why they were important Associated people or facts Lidia 15-M Movement (2011) 21 years Mass-scale popular mobilisation that made an impression on me Parties from the twoparty system Abuse suffered by my mother 15-21 years Awareness of gender inequalities My family Ángeles Agreement between Izquierda Unida (IU) + PSOE Andalucía 32 years I felt very disappointed that IU would join forces with the ones who were there before MPs from Andalusia Eviction of friends and relatives 33 years - present day I saw that the government was not concerned about people People around me My parents’ separation, and the unfair treatment of my mother 15 years I saw how weak people are treated unfairly and afforded no protection Judges Hardship suffered by local families in my environment 33 years - present day Participating actively with different groups, I witnessed how people in need were treated unfairly, and saw their impotence Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) Cronyism among elected politicians in my town 28 years - present day They favour their friends over and above those who really need help People in my town Table 3 Pinheiro e Silva et al. – Young councilwomen in Spain 28 Events Identified by Carlota and Marga Key events/ moments/situations Age at which they occurred or approximate date Reason why they were important Associated people or facts Carlota Political conversations at home Ever since I can remember My parents instilled a sense of political awareness in me by talking amongst themselves or to me Mother and father Situation of my country 29 years The situation of social desperation empowered me and prompted me to try and do something about it 15-M Movement Social injustice All my life I’ve always felt the need to defend those in situations of inequality My family Marga The most important moment was the start of the 15-M Movement 2015, when I joined the political party in my town My ideals My father, I have always shared an interest in politics with him The economic-social situation at the time The feminist struggle My mother, my role model in my feminist struggle Social inequality All my classmates at university, because it was our lot to live in difficult economic times Because if I don’t fight for what I believe in I can never be happy Analysis Phase 2: Scenarios that Influenced Participants’ Political Commitment The second phase of the analysis focused on identifying the scenarios that participants believed had influenced the formation of their political identity and commitment. Here, the main elements taken into account were the events or moments described previously by interviewees. In accordance with that proposed by Cho & Lee (2014), these scenarios were established as RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1) 35 The above is connected to the third phase of the thematic analysis, which focused on examining, in detail, the importance of age and gender in the development of participants’ political commitment and identity. Here, two interviewees referred to the gender-based violence and gender inequality suffered by themselves and their mothers as key events in the construction of their political commitment and identity. Alongside this theme, another participant identified the feminist struggle, as one of her key events, naming her mother as a role model in this sense. All four interviewees recounted the difficulties they had faced in their political careers as the result of being young women. They recounted how they had, in short, been faced with different forms of hostile and benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996) from their colleagues, both inside and out of their own political party. It is important to highlight that all life stories involve a balance between the individual's autonomy and agency and the role played by their relationship with others, not only those close to them with whom they establish direct relations (communion, McAdams, 2001), but also the groups and institutions with which they interact and, in general, the social, cultural and historical scenario in which their individual development takes place, which provides them with a ‘menu of stories’ that serve as the basis for their life story (identity) (McAdams & Olson, 2010). From a general theoretical perspective, participants’ narratives of their political evolution highlight the aforementioned balance between individual agency and autonomy and the role played by their relationship with others. In relation to the first dimension, all participants said that they had had to face certain events and landmarks that generated a ‘breach’ (Bruner, 1990) in their life stories. In some cases, these events were linked to the family, such as gender-based violence and injustice, and in others they corresponded more to the macrosystem, particularly the 15-M Movement. In response to these events, participants opted for the pathway of political participation and commitment as a means of having an impact on the world they wanted to change, a choice that involved the action of the self, a self that was not only individual, but collective also. Their political commitment and subsequent evolution may be considered a means of 'repairing the breach’ (de la Mata et al., 2024) and establishing the necessary continuity in their life stories going into the future. This piece of research aimed to contribute to the study of gender, youth, identity and political commitment, in order to expand our understanding of the life stories of young women who stand for election to local councils, taking the diversity of their trajectories and experiences into account also. Encouraging more young women to engage in institutional politics is an important challenge for society. The data reveal that although an increasing number of women are entering the political arena, their numbers are still far from representative. Ensuring equality between men and women is one of the goals of the 2040 Agenda for sustainable development. To achieve this goal, it is vital to develop public policies that are based on scientific evidence, such as that provided by the present study, which offers insight into how the political commitment of young women is constructed today, and the challenges they face during this process. Pinheiro e Silva et al. – Young councilwomen in Spain 36 Acknowledgments We are extremely grateful to the councilwomen interviewed during this research project. We would also like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES/Brazil) for supporting the study through a PhD study grant. This work was supported by a grant from Consejería de Transformación Económica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades from Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities) PROYEXCEL_00766. RIMCIS – International and Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1) 37 References Allen, P. (2013). Gendered Candidate Emergence in Britain: Why are More Women Councillors Not Becoming MPs? Politics, 33(3), 147-159. https://doi.org/10.1111/14679256.12017 Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. Arnett, J. 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