Prospects for women's legislative representation in postsocialist Europe: The views of female politicians

Yvonne Galligan, Sara Clavero

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Research on women's political representation in postsocialist Europe has highlighted the role of cultural and political factors in obstructing women's access to legislative power, such as the prevalence of traditional gender stereotypes, electoral systems, and the absence of a feminist movement. Yet, the role of women political elites in enhancing or hindering women's access to political power in the region has so far remained uncharted. This article seeks to fill some of the existing gaps in this literature by examining the views of women politicians with regard to women's political underrepresentation and their assessments of strategies for redressing this imbalance. Findings from the analysis reveal that although women politicians recognize gender inequalities in representation as a problem requiring intervention, how the problem is perceived, and the preferred measures to deal with it, is largely shaped by the social and cultural context in which these actors are embedded.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-171
Number of pages23
JournalGender and Society
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Culture
  • Legislative recruitment
  • Political elites
  • Political representation
  • Postsocialist Europe
  • Women and politics

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