The mention of EU lobbying often conjures up the stereotypical notion of an “old boys’ club”. A quick Google search for caricatures of lobbyists typically reveals a familiar scene: middle-aged white men in suits, representing big businesses and engaged in clandestine meetings.
While this perception may be somewhat exaggerated, it is not entirely unfounded. In a compelling TED talk, Marta Żołądź underscores the persistent underrepresentation of women in EU lobbying, noting that many conferences in Brussels are overwhelmingly male – even when discussing policies that primarily affect women. Academic research similarly indicates that the lobbying landscape is dominated by men, particularly well-educated, non-migrant men from elite backgrounds.
Despite these observations, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the socio-demographic characteristics of lobbyists – such as gender, age, nationality, education and ethnic background – and how these traits influence their access to policymaking institutions. The ACCESS4ALL project seeks to address these gaps by investigating how these characteristics affect lobbyists’ ability to engage with key EU institutions.
While considerable research has explored which interest groups successfully access policymakers – typically resourceful interests – there is a scarcity of studies examining how the personal attributes of individual lobbyists impact this access. Public discourse often portrays lobbyists as faceless agents of corporate interests rather than as individuals with unique identities and perspectives.
Our project aims to shift this narrative by focusing on the human side of public affairs and emphasising how individual characteristics of lobbyists and policymakers influence policy access. Hence, we aim to uncover biases that characterise the daily interactions between lobbyists and policymakers and offer solutions on how to overcome them.
About the authors:
Iskander De Bruycker is an Associate Professor in EU Politics and Policy at Maastricht University.
Sandra Martinez-Böhme is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Maastricht University.
Susanna Eiselt is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Maastricht University.