1st Edition

Women Divided Gender, Religion and Politics in Northern Ireland

By Rosemary Sales Copyright 1997

    The ongoing Irish peace process has renewed interest in the current social and political problems of Northern Ireland. In bringing together the issues of gender and inequality, Women Divided, a title in the International Studies of Women and Place series, offers new perspectives on women's rights and contemporary political issues.
    Women Divided argues that religious and political sectarianism in Northern Ireland has subordinated women. A historical review is followed by an analysis of the contemporary scene-- state, market (particularly employment patterns), family and church--and the role of women's movements. The book concludes with an in-depth critique of the current peace process and its implications for women's rights in Northern Ireland, arguing that women's rights must be a central element in any agenda for peace and reconciliation.

    List of tables, Glossary, Acknowledgements, Maps, 1 INTRODUCTION, 2 THE RISE AND FALL OF STORMONT, 3 EXPLAINING THE CONFLICT, 4 BRITISH POLICY UNDER DIRECT RULE, 5 SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL DIVISIONS, 6 EMPLOYMENT INEQUALITY IN THE 1990s, 7 ENGENDERING CHANGE, 8 WOMEN AND THE ‘PEACE PROCESS’, Notes, Bibliography, Index

    Biography

    Rosemary Sales is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Middlesex University.