Belgium’s new Cabinet is a boys’ club

BRUSSELS — The boys are back in town.

It all started with a ceremonial photo taken after the formation of the new Belgian government: white, middle-aged men in the front row, a few female ministers behind them — their faces hidden in the shadows — with no person of color in sight.

The photo led to so much backlash that it was retaken — but critics, including a minister in the new Cabinet, say it reflects an issue that remains unresolved.

The appointment of just four women out of 15 ministers sparked anger on social media and among politicians. It also presented a stark contrast with the government of previous Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, which achieved gender parity among its ministers.

“How is it going? Hope we (half of humanity) are not bothering you too much!” wrote Marie-Colline Leroy, the former Belgian secretary for gender equality, in a post on Bluesky.

Vanessa Matz, modernization minister in the new government, told POLITICO that the situation makes her “uncomfortable.”

“I don’t find it normal … four women … is obviously very, very few,” said Matz, who hails from the francophone centrist Les Engagés party.

Furthermore, none of those women made it to the kern, or core Cabinet of deputy prime ministers that discusses the most important issues, Matz pointed out.

‘Smurfette principle’

Katrien Van den broeck, who worked in the communications department of the previous De Croo government and is a trainer at the Alliance of Her platform, which empowers women to pursue careers in politics, compared the situation to the village of iconic Belgian comic characters the Smurfs.

“There’s many kinds of men in that village … And there’s one woman, Smurfette, and one woman is enough,” she told POLITICO. “And basically, what we see in the government is the Smurfette principle.”

“Diversity is not an issue for this government, it’s not a priority. But it should be,” she added.

The conservative Belgian government, formed at the end of January after seven months of negotiations, consists of the right-wing New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the francophone center-right Reformist Movement, the francophone centrist Les Engagés, the centrist Christian Democrat and Flemish party, and the center-left Flemish Forward party.

Ministerial positions are allocated on the basis of vote share, with political parties putting forward nominations. Four parties nominated just one woman each, with Vooruit nominating none.

The imbalance is even more striking considering that Belgium, sometimes seen as a close second to Scandinavian countries in terms of gender equality, in 1994 became the first country worldwide to introduce legally binding gender quotas for parties in all elections.

In response to the flurry of criticism, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever of N-VA said “it is a shame” that there aren’t more women in the government.

“It’s more of a coincidence, not a choice. It’s not elegant, in these times, to have only men in the Cabinet — but it can happen,” he said.

Van den broeck pointed out: “As prime minister, you have some leverage. You can send them back and say: I want an equal government.”

De Wever’s administration pushed back, with a spokesperson saying: “Each party decides for itself whom it wishes to appoint. The prime minister does not intervene in the parties’ choice.”

New Defense Minister Theo Francken, also of N-VA, brushed aside the criticism, expressing disappointment that someone might be judged based on their gender and not their abilities.

“Aside from the fact that the world is on fire and there are much bigger issues, I am surprised by this criticism,” he wrote in a long post on X, finishing with the statement: “Long live meritocracy.”

Van den broeck ascribed the outcome to Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Trump’s clear message that “diversity is not necessary anymore” is spreading from Washington, she argued.

POLITICO contacted the political parties in the new government for comment, but did not receive a response.

Pressing for presence

Robie Devroe, a researcher on gender and political representation at the University of Ghent, pointed out that the lack of diversity among ministers “also relates to minorities, age, level of education, sexual orientation.”

That lack of diversity could affect upcoming legislation and reduce the rights of women and minorities — and may also result in some perspectives being neglected, such as on abortion law, where Belgium is set to discuss an extension to the current legal limit of 12 weeks.

It could also affect interest in politics, Devroe continued. Politicians who are female, from an ethnic minority or who have disabilities serve as role models for their respective groups.

“If those groups in society see that politics is largely dominated by white, middle-aged men, this will also diminish their interest in politics because they will have the feeling that politics is not for them,” she explained.

The opposition socialist party has put forward a proposal that would enshrine gender parity in the constitution.

Minister Matz said it’s time to talk about quotas.

According to her, the introduction of quotas at the federal level is “a necessary evil” and should last until they are no longer necessary.

“If we don’t have them, we’ll never get there. We have to push things forward,” Matz said.

Matz acknowledged that as a woman in such a male-dominated government, she feels a greater responsibility to advocate the interests of women.

“I have three wonderful [female] colleagues who, like me, believe it’s important — so we’re not going to let anyone push us around,” she said.