Drude Dahlerup

Why are women still under-represented in politics? Can we speak of democracy when women are not fully included in political decision-making? Some argue that we are on the right track to full gender equality in politics, while others talk about women hitting the glass ceiling or being included in institutions with shrinking power, not least as a result of neo-liberalism. In this powerful essay, internationally renowned scholar of gender and politics Drude Dahlerup explains how democracy has failed women and what can be done to tackle it. Political institutions, including political parties, she argues, are the real gatekeepers to elected positions all over the world, but they need to be much more inclusive. By reforming these institutions and carefully implementing gender quotas we can move towards improved gender equality and greater democratization.

Has Democracy Failed Women?

"Rejs jer, kvinder," stod der på bannerne til den første rødstrømpedemonstration i København den 8. april 1970, hvor en flok unge kvinder med røde strømper og udstoppede kæmpebarme marcherede ned ad Strøget. Rødstrømpebevægelsen var født, og den kom til at spille en enorm rolle i den danske kvindekamp. Drude Dahlerup, der selv var en del af Rødstrømpebevægelsen, fortæller i dette tobindsværk fra 1998 om de fandenivoldske kvinder, deres mål og metoder, og hvad der senere blev af dem og deres ideologi. I første bind beskrives blandt andet Rødstrømpebevægelsens opbygning, forholdet til den etablerede feminisme, de specifikke grupper rundt omkring i landet og den feministiske kunstneriske virksomhed. Drude Dahlerup (f. 1945) er dansk kvinde- og samfundsforsker og professor i statskundskab tilknyttet Stockholm Universitet og RUC. I 1970 var hun med til at starte Rødstrømpebevægelsen i Danmark som en del af den nye internationale kvindebevægelse og har lige siden kæmpet for kvinders rettigheder i både Danmark og i udlandet. I 1990’erne markerede Drude Dahlerup sig i kampen mod EU og var i 1992 med til at stifte JuniBevægelsen, som blev en af de ledende EU-kritiske bevægelser. Drude Dahlerup var med til at udvikle den nye kvindeforskning, i dag kønsforskning, i Danmark, i Norden og internationalt, og hun har været leder af Center for kvinde- og kønsstudier ved Aarhus Universitet samt medlem af bestyrelsen for KVINFO.

Rødstrømperne. Den danske Rødstrømpebevægelses udvikling, nytænkning og gennemslag 1970-1985. Bind 1

This is the first world-wide, comparative study of the controversial new trends of gender quotas now emerging in global politics, presenting a comprehensive overview of changes in women’s parliamentary representation across the world. This is important reading for all those working to increase women’s influence in politics, because it scrutinizes under what circumstances gender quotas do increase women’s representation – and why they sometimes fail. These distinguished international scholars also show how gender balance in politics has become important to a nation’s international image and why quotas are being introduced in many post-conflict countries. They present key case studies of Afghanistan, Iraq, Argentina, Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, covering almost all major regions of the world: Latin America, Africa, the Arab world, South Asia, the Balkans, The Nordic countries and Europe, New Zealand, Australia and the USA - and Rwanda, which in 2003 unexpectedly surpassed Sweden as the number one country in the world in terms of women’s parliamentary representation. Using a comparative perspective, this book contains analyses of the discursive controversies around quotas; it gives an overview over various types of quotas in use from candidate quotas to reserved seat systems, and it throws light over the troublesome implementation process. When do gender quotas lead to actual increase in the number of women parliament? When are quotas merely a symbolic gesture? What does it imply to be elected as a ‘quota woman’? Tackling these and many more key questions, this is a major new contribution to the field. Making an important contribution to our knowledge of gender politics worldwide, this book will be of interest to NGOs, students and scholars of democracy, policy-making, comparative politics and gender studies.

Women, Quotas and Politics

Hanane Darhour

While the Arab Uprisings presented new opportunities for the empowerment of women, the sidelining of women remains a constant risk in the post-revolutionist MENA countries. Changes in the position of women are crucial to the reconfiguration of state-society relations and to the discussions between Islamist and secular trends. Theoretically framed and based on new empirical data, this edited volume explores women’s activism and political representation as well as discursive changes, with a particular focus on secular and Islamic feminism, and changes in popular opinions on women’s position in society. While the contributors express optimistic as well as more pessimistic views for the future, they agree that this is a period of uncertainty for women in the region, and that support by ruling elites towards women’s rights remains ambiguous and double-edged.

Double-Edged Politics on Women’s Rights in the MENA Region

Monique Leyenaar

Around 100 years after women's suffrage was gained and in spite of much effort gender balance in politics is still far from achieved in most countries. Women's average representation in the world's parliaments was around 20 per cent in 2012. This book studies historical processes of breaking male dominance in politics. It discusses how women have gained access to, or have remained excluded from, political influence in party leadership, in elected assemblies andin government. It focuses on Old Democracies, that is counties or states which share a long tradition of democratic practices, highly developed socio-economic structures and where women's suffrage was established at the beginning of the 20th century.

Drude Dahlerup

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