Descriptive representation of Marginalized Groups in Dutch politics

As in many countries around the world, Dutch politics historically has been dominated by White abled heterosexual men. How have groups that do not fit this norm—women, citizens with a ‘migration background’, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans (LGBT) citizens, and disabled citizens—been descriptively represented and how has this developed over time? What explains variation among the political representation of these various groups in the Netherlands? Our findings demonstrate that the groups under study are still systematically underrepresented, but some more than others. Despite progress in the last decade, there are significant differences between political parties and levels. Based on available data, representation at the national level is most diverse, while the local and provincial are less so. While data on the representation of women are relatively well collected, systematic data on other groups are lacking. More research and open-access data collection are needed to study how macro-, meso- and micro-level dynamics play out in the recruitment, election, and dropout of historically marginalized groups, and how this differs intersectionally.