Gender equality under siege: unpacking far-right resistance against gender equality in the Parliament of Catalonia

The far right’s resistance against gender equality in parliaments disrupts and polarises parliamentary work on gender equality. A classification of far-right parties’ strategies against gender equality in parliament is necessary to understand current challenges faced by gender equality and LGBTI+ rights in parliaments. A qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with members of the Parliament of Catalonia and parliamentary debates allows us to identify the strategies of active opposition against gender equality since the entry of the far-right party Vox in parliament. Results show that Vox’s anti-gender strategies negatively affect gender equality and the quality of democratic deliberation in Spain even in a parliament such as the Catalan that presents a high level of institutionalisation of gender equality.