1st Edition

The Politics of Women's Interests New Comparative Perspectives

Edited By Louise Chappell, Lisa Hill Copyright 2006
    268 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    268 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This new study reveals how institutional practices and discourses shape the way men and women are conceived of, and how through this process, gender stereotypes and expectations are created.

    Informed by the latest research and trends, these expert authors examine the way in which domestic and global institutions shape and reflect gender interests and the extent to which feminists can challenge gender norms through political institutions.

    They examine regional, national and international institutions including the EU, ICC and UN and take a broad view of political institutions to include bureaucracy; federalism; legal structures; parliaments; voting and electoral institutions; and media coverage of women’s involvement in such institutions.

    Drawing on experiences in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, political science and comparative politics.

    1. Introduction: The Politics of Women’s Interests

    Lisa Hill and Louise Chappell

    2. The Problem with Interests: Making Political Claims for ‘Women’

    Jill Vickers

    3. Is There Such a Thing as a Political Women’s Interest in Britain?

    Rosie Campbell

    4. Women’s Interests and Political Orientations: The Gender Voting Gap in Three Industrialized Settings

    Lisa Hill

    5. Advancing Women’s Interest in Formal Politics: The Politics of Presence and Proportional Representation in the Antipodes

    Jennifer Curtin

    6. From Women’s Interests to Special Interests: Reframing Equality Claims

    Marian Sawer

    7. Disparate Fates in Challenging Times: Women’s Policy Agencies and Neoliberalism in Aotearoa/New Zealand and British Columbia

    Katherine Teghtsoonian

    8. Gender Inequality and Feminist Activism in Institutions: Challenges of Marginalization and Feminist ‘Fading’

    Benita Roth

    9. Women’s Interests, Gender Mainstreaming and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

    Roberta Guerinna

    10. International Citizenship and Women’s Interests

    Merryn L. Smith

    11. ‘Women’s Interests’ as ‘Women’s Rights’: Developments at the UN Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court

    Louise Chappell

    Biography

    Louise Chappell is Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics and Political Science at the University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. Lisa Hill is a Senior Research Fellow in Politics at the University Adelaide, SA, Australia.

    "The collection succeeds in highlighting the varied opportunities and constraints presented for the articulation and advocacy of women’s interests and the contingent, dynamic nature that is required for feminist activism… It will be a valuable addition to readings lists on comparative political analysis and gender studies, and contributes to the growing scholarship in this field."

    International Feminist Journal of Politics, 9:3, 433 - 434