Women and Politics Worldwide

To what extent do women participate in the decisions that shape the political and economic contours of the world? In what ways do women in different countries have different political goals? How should women mobilize for change?

This important book?the first to analyze the complexities of women's political participation on a cross-national scale and from a feminist perspective?surveys forty-three countries, chosen to represent a variety of political systems, levels of economic development, and regions, in order to answer these questions. The research definitively demonstrates that in no country do women have political status, access, or influence equal to men's.

The book begins by offering an expanded definition of political engagement; by elaborating on the patterns that emerge from the study; and by describing the methodology and data collection. The rest of the chapters focus on individual countries and follow a set format: they describe the political history and institutions in the country, summarize the organization of women's movements there, and analyze how groups of women articulate political demands and what responses they receive from their government or community. While the contexts of activism vary widely, the authors find that the issues that engage women politically are often similar across the globe: these include resistance to militarism, the desire to become equal partners in new democracies, and frustration about their lack of representation in programs for economic development.

Barbara J. Nelson is professor of public affairs at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota and director of the Center on Woman and Public Policy. Najma Chowdhury is professor of political science at Dhaka University, Bangladesh, and the past president of Women for Women: A Research and Study Group.