Gender and politics

Gender and politics, also called gender in

politics, is a field of study in political
science and gender studies that aims to
understand the relationship between
peoples' genders and phenomena in
politics. Researchers of gender and
politics study how peoples' political
participation and experiences interact with
their gender identity, and how ideas of
gender shape political institutions and
decision-making. Women's political
participation in the context of patriarchal
political systems is a particular focus of
study. Gender and politics is an
interdisciplinary field, drawing not just from
political science and gender studies but
also related fields such as feminist
political thought, and peoples' gendered
treatment is commonly seen as
intersectionally linked to their entire social
identity.
History
Scholars interested in the relationship
between gender and politics published
studies on the topic as early as the 1960s
and 1970s, and by the mid-2000s the topic
had become a coherent subfield of
political science,[1] with dedicated
publishing venues and conferences.[2]
Scope and context

Overview

The study of gender and politics is

concerned with how peoples' gender
structures their participation in and
experience of political events, and how
political institutions are encoded with
gendered ideas.[3] This study exists in the
context that, historically and across
countries, gender has been a core
determinant of how resources are
distributed, how policies are set, and who
participates in political decision-making.[3]
Because of the breadth covered by the
subfield, it spans numerous areas of study
in politics such as international relations,
comparative politics, political philosophy,
and public policy, and it draws from and
builds on ideas in feminist political theory
like intersectionality and modern
conceptions of gender.[4] The study of
gender and politics overlaps with the study
of how other components of peoples'
social identities interact with their political
participation and experiences, with
researchers particularly emphasizing that
the interaction of gender and politics is
intersectional and dependent on factors
like peoples' race, class, and gender
expression.[3]
The study of gender and politics may also
be referred to as "gender in politics",[5] and
is closely related to the study of "women
and politics" or "women in politics", which
may also be used synecdochically to refer
to the connection between gender and
politics.[6]

Women and politics

A central concern in the study of gender

and politics is the patriarchal exclusion of
women from politics, which is a common
but not universal theme historically and
across cultures.[3] As the involvement of
women in public affairs increased across
many societies during the 20th and 21st
centuries, academic attention was also
increasingly focused on the changing role
of women in politics. For example, a
common topic in the study of gender and
politics is the participation of women as
politicians, voters, and activists in a
particular country.[7][8] Since that
participation exists in some political
context, many scholars of gender and
politics also study the political
mechanisms that either enable or
suppress women's participation in politics;
women's social participation may increase
or decrease as a result of political
institutions, government policies, or social
events.[9][10] Another common topic of
study is the impact on women of particular
social policies, such as debates over
women's rights,[11] reproductive rights,[12]
women in government quotas,[13] and
policies on violence against women.[14]

Gender and politics researchers have also

analyzed the position of women in the
discipline of political science, which has
mirrored the broader societal trend of
increasing inclusion and participation of
women beginning in the second half of the
20th century.[3][15]
Works and institutions
Gender and politics is the focus of the
journals Politics & Gender[16] and the
European Journal of Politics and Gender.
Gender and politics is also the title of a
book series, Gender and Politics, which
launched in 2012 and published dozens of
volumes over the next several years.[4]

There are a number of institutes and

centers devoted to the study of gender
and politics. The Center for American
Women and Politics in the Eagleton
Institute of Politics at Rutgers University is
dedicated to the study of women's political
participation in the United States.[17] Other
examples include the Women & Politics
Institute at American University, which
seeks "to close the gender gap in political
leadership" by providing relevant academic
training to young women,[18] and the Center
for Women in Politics and Public Policy at
the University of Massachusetts Boston
which has a similar mandate.[19]

See also
Identity politics
Gender essentialism
Gender empowerment
 Gender Empowerment Measure
(GEM)
Sociology of gender
Anti-gender movement
Patriarchy
Sexism in American political elections

References
1. Mackay, Fiona (February 1, 2004). "Gender
and Political Representation in the UK: The
State of the 'Discipline' ". The British
Journal of Politics and International
Relations. 6 (1): 99–120.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-856X.2004.00129.x (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-856X.2004.
00129.x) . S2CID 143834992 (https://api.s
 emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:14383499
2) .
2. Sarah Childs; Mona Lena Krook (1 February
2006). "Gender and Politics: The State of
the Art". Politics. 26 (1): 18–28.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9256.2006.00247.x (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9256.2006.
00247.x) . S2CID 144980621 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:14498062
1) .
3. Karen Celis; Johanna Kantola; Georgina
Waylen; S. Laurel Weldon (March 2013).
"Introduction: Gender and Politics: A
Gendered World, a Gendered Discipline". In
Karen Celis; Johanna Kantola; Georgina
Waylen; S. Laurel Weldon (eds.). The
Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics.
Oxford University Press.
4. "Gender and Politics" (https://www.palgrav
e.com/gp/series/14998) . Palgrave
Macmillan. 2017. Retrieved 23 November
2020.
5. Pamela Paxton; Sheri Kunovich; Melanie M.
Hughes (August 11, 2007). "Gender in
Politics". Annual Review of Sociology. 33:
263–264.
doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.13165
1 (https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.soc.
33.040406.131651) . S2CID 9483072 (http
s://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:9483
072) .
6. Sarah Childs; Mona Lena Krook, eds.
(March 18, 2010). Women, Gender, and
Politics: A Reader. Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0195368819.
7. Julie Dolan; Melissa M. Deckman; Michele
L. Swers (2016). Women and Politics:
Paths to Power and Political Influence.
Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-
1442254756.
8. Menon, Nivedita (1999). Gender and
Politics in India. Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0195658930.
9. Naples, Nancy A. (April 26, 2017).
"Introduction to the special issue: Women,
gender and politics: An international
overview". Social Sciences. 5 (2): 1.
10. Mala Htun; S. Laurel Weldon (March 2010).
"When Do Governments Promote Women's
Rights? A Framework for the Comparative
Analysis of Sex Equality Policy".
Perspectives on Politics. 8 (1): 207–216.
doi:10.1017/S1537592709992787 (https://
doi.org/10.1017%2FS153759270999278
7) . S2CID 153945965 (https://api.semanti
cscholar.org/CorpusID:153945965) .
11. Wolbrecht, Christina (July 16, 2000). The
Politics of Women's Rights: Parties,
Positions, and Change. Princeton University
Press. ISBN 0691048576.
12. Mottier, Véronique (March 2013).
"Introduction: Gender and Politics: A
Gendered World, a Gendered Discipline". In
Karen Celis; Johanna Kantola; Georgina
Waylen; S. Laurel Weldon (eds.). The
Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics.
Oxford University Press.
13. Piscopo, Jennifer M. (July 2016). "When
Informality Advantages Women: Quota
Networks, Electoral Rules and Candidate
Selection in Mexico" (https://doi.org/10.101
7%2Fgov.2016.11) . Government and
Opposition. 51 (3): 487–512.
doi:10.1017/gov.2016.11 (https://doi.org/1
0.1017%2Fgov.2016.11) .
14. Amoakohene, Margaret Ivy (December
2004). "Violence against women in Ghana:
a look at women's perceptions and review
of policy and social responses". Social
Science & Medicine. 59 (1): 2373–2385.
doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.001 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.socscimed.2004.0
4.001) . PMID 15450710 (https://pubmed.n
cbi.nlm.nih.gov/15450710) .
15. Meredith Reid Sarkees; Nancy E. McGlen
(March 1999). "Misdirected Backlash: The
Evolving Nature of Academia and the
Status of Women in Political Science". PS:
Political Science & Politics. 32 (1): 100–
108. doi:10.2307/420757 (https://doi.org/1
0.2307%2F420757) . JSTOR 420757 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/420757) .
S2CID 113403434 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:113403434) .
16. "Politics & Gender" (https://www.cambridg
e.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender) .
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved
23 November 2020.
 17. "About CAWP: Mission" (https://cawp.rutger
s.edu/about_cawp/history-and-mission) .
Center for American Women and Politics. 4
February 2015. Retrieved 23 November
2020.
18. "Mission & Purpose" (https://www.america
n.edu/spa/wpi/mission.cfm) . Women &
Politics Institute at American University.
Retrieved 23 November 2020.
19. "Center for Women in Politics and Public
Policy" (https://www.umb.edu/cwppp) .
Center for Women in Politics and Public
Policy at the University of Massachusetts
Boston. Retrieved 23 November 2020.

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