Zoe LEFKOFRIDI

Course offered: A Union of Equality: interdisciplinary perspectives on gender power in the EU and the world (30h)

Zoe Lefkofridi is Professor of Politics & Gender, Diversity & Equality at the University of Salzburg, where she holds the first professorship for Gender Studies in the State of Salzburg. A co-founder of the ATHENA Centre for Intersectional Gender Research, she is a leading voice on the intersections of democracy, inequality, and institutional representation. Her research investigates the causes and consequences of unequal political participation and representation, examining how these factors challenge the resilience and legitimacy of democratic systems. Her work has appeared in leading academic outlets, including the European Journal of Politics and Gender, Government and Opposition, Politics & Gender, and West European Politics. She is the editor of the Elgar Encyclopedia of Gender and Politics (2026).

Currently, Professor Lefkofridi serves as the Principal Investigator for the Horizon Europe projectEDGE (Enhancing Democratic Support under Conditions of Geographic and Intersectional Inequalities in Europe, 2026–2029). She previously led the international research consortiumPushBackLash (2023–2026) and the work package on Representation of the ActEU project. Her research contributions have been recognized with the 2025 Lupac Science Prize (Austrian Parliament), the 2023 Käthe Leichter Prize, and the 2023 Greek International Women Award in Law and Political Science.

An alumna of the College of Europe (Bertha von Suttner Promotion), Professor Lefkofridi also holds degrees from the Universities of Vienna and Athens, the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. Her academic career includes postdoctoral research at Stanford University, the European University Institute (Florence), and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Research interests:

• Democracy and representation
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• European integration 

Recent publications:

• Lefkofridi, Z., Giger, N. and Holli, A-M. (2018) When all Parties Nominate Women: Gender Stereotypes and Candidate Selection. Politics & Gender, 1-27.

• Lefkofridi, Z. and Katsanidou, A. (2018) A Step Closer to a Transnational Party System?  Competition and Coherence in the 2009 and 2014 European Parliament. Journal of Common Market Studies, 56 (6): 1462-1482. (Open Access). 

• Lefkofridi, Z. (2020) Competition in the European Arena: How the Rules of the Game Help Nationalists Gain. Politics and Governance, 8(1): 41–49 (Open Access).   

• Dingler, S. and Lefkofridi, Z. (2021) The Gender Dimension of Populism. In Heinisch, R. Holz-Bacha, C. Mazzoleni O. (eds) Handbook on Political Populism. Baden Baden: Nomos: 345-360.   

• Zwiener-Collins, N. and Lefkofridi, Z. (2023). Unequal political participation: Do gender roles matter? In: Grand, P., Fink M.& Tiemann, G. (eds.) 20 Jahre Österreich im European Social Survey: Gesellschaftliche Einstellungen, Präferenzen und Bewertungen. Wien, Köln: Böhlau, 95–125. (Open Access)