Gender and politics

Abstract

Women are beginning to play an increasing role in politics, as citizens, parliamentarians and leaders. However, their presence in politics is still significantly lower than that of men in most democracies. This panel features papers discussing women’s struggle to get to the top, and what they do once they actually get there. Whose fault is it that women are so under-represented? And does it matter? Do women actually make a difference? Rainbow Murray and Aurélia Troupel look at the attempts to get more women elected into politics in France, and ask if next year’s parliamentary elections will bring new hope for women or see a repeat of the previous failed attempt to boost their numbers. Ansa Masaud looks at the work being done by female politicians in Pakistan to see whether they are acting in the substantive interests of women, and whether there is yet a sufficient number of women in parliament for their presence to be felt. Yasmine Berriane considers the case of Morocco, where women have traditionally been very under-represented, and looks at recent attempts to assist women’s transition into public life and the impact that this has had on female elites. Finally, Anna Vorobyova looks at Yulia Tymoshenko, recently the Prime Minister of the Ukraine, as a case study of the gendered way that female politicians are assessed, from attempts to “feminise” politics to criticism of their appearance. (It is possible that Yulia Tymoshenko will be back in office by the time of the conference). Considered together, these papers consider the challenges that women face as political hopefuls and actors, and demonstrates that women have a lot to offer politics, even if they are still a long way from achieving equality

Title	Details
Parity in France’s 2007 elections: will parties redeem themselves or repeat the failure of 2002?	View Paper Details
Yulia Tymoshenko: Princess of the Orange Revolution vs. Ineffective Prime-Minister	View Paper Details
The structure of the Portuguese parties concerning the election of women	View Paper Details