Political Participation

Modern gender and politics scholarship began with Maurice Duverger’s book The Political Role of Women, the first cross-national survey-based research on women’s electoral participation. We have come a long way since 1955, not only in terms of research on women’s voting behaviour but also in terms of research on gender gaps in many other forms of political participation. Recently there has been exciting new research in areas such as the political participation of Islamic women in both Muslim minority and Muslim majority countries, as well as women’s participation in the anti-immigrant parties of the radical right. Other new areas have included women’s political activism on the Internet, including the creation of online feminist communities. Political consumerism is another area that has moved into view. Women have been engaging in this form of political participation since at least the 1820's sugar boycotts but for a long time it was taken less seriously than male-identified forms of political participation. This section welcomes panels and papers that contribute to research and knowledge about all facets of women’s political participation. Papers may be theoretical or empirical and consider women’s participation as voters, party or trade union members, political candidates, online activists or campaigners at local, regional, national and transnational levels. Papers that examine new realms of women’s political participation such as social media are particularly welcomed, as are papers exploring the complexities of gender gaps in political behaviour or contributing new knowledge about little-known areas.