Petra Meier is Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and convenor of the Policy Research Centre on Equality Policies, located at the same institution. Her research and publications focus on issues of the representation of gender in politics and policies. Recently she published ‘The Symbolic Representation of Gender. A Discursive Approach.’ (with Emanuela Lombardo, 2014, Ashgate) and a Special Issue on Gendering Federalism (with Jill Vickers and Louise Chappell, 2013, Publius: The Journal of Federalism 43(1). Currently she is preparing a volume on the professionalization of gender equality struggles (with David Paternotte, 2015, l’Harmattan).