“Real Equality Requires Structural Change” Antonia Luciani at Feminism Seminar

At the seminar “Building Progressive Feminism”, coorganised by Nueva Canarias and the European Free Alliance, the President of the Coppieters Foundation, Antonia Luciani, delivered apresentation on the structural barriers that continue to prevent women from fully participating in political life.

The event brought together progressive voices to examine why women continue to leave politics not due to isolated or personal circumstances, but because of systemic obstacles embedded in how power is distributed and exercised.

Speaking from both personal and political experience, Luciani addressed the persistent inequalities faced by women in public roles, particularly those who are also mothers. Reflecting on her political career in Corsica and her time as Executive Councillor for Culture and Education, she underlined the tension many women face between fulfilling public responsibilities and personal live.

“Sometimes you have to choose between being a politician or being a mother,” Luciani stated, highlighting how late meetings, inflexible schedules, and a lack of logistical support make it difficult for women to maintain their political commitments. These conditions often lead to self-censorship or gradual withdrawal from political spaces, hence from decision making which leads to under representation and lack of consideration for gender aware policies.

Luciani also discussed the importance of parity laws in France, which have been in place for 25 years and have helped improve women’s access to regional political lists. However, she warned that legal tools alone are not sufficient. “Parity is a necessary starting point,” she said, “but once in politics, women still face a world that wasn’t built for them — a world that operates according to rules that exclude them.”

The Coppieters Foundation, she noted, is actively engaged in analysing and addressing these structural limitations. Through conferences, research, and policy advocacy, the foundation works to understand how women can enter, remain, and lead in political life — not as tokens or exceptions, but as equal actors.

Luciani called for a feminist leadership rooted in merit, lived experience, and a redefinition of political norms. She stressed the need to counter stereotypes and reduce the burdens that weigh disproportionately on women. “We must build systems that allow women’s energy and determination to flow naturally into positions of power,” she concluded.

The seminar echoed this call by framing gender equality not as a rhetorical goal, but as a democratic priority. As participants reflected throughout the event: behind the discourse of equality, exclusion still persists — particularly against feminist voices pushing for genuine transformation.

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Coppieters Foundation receives financial support from the European Parliament. The sole liability rests with the author(s). The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained, content of the event nor for the opinions of the speakers.

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