What impact do political parties have on women's political representation and on state gender policies? Does this vary at national and local levels? This study looks at the National Women's Ministry in Chile, a country of ideological conflict, strong parties and centralized government and the leftwing Brazilian Workers' Party, characterised by clientelism, weak parties and decentralization.

' ...a most welcome contribution to the analysis of Latin American politics, and to the field of gender studies. Exhaustively researched, it reveals the intricate relationships between gender politics, public institutions and policy outcomes. No one reading this book will be left in doubt as to the importance of political parties for advancing equality agendas, nor about the obstacles that party systems place in the way of female representation.' - Maxine Molyneux, Professor of Sociology, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of London, UK

'...{an} excellent study...Macaulay brings to bear truly extraordinary fieldwork and interviews to provide detailed accounts of the very complex interactions between feminism and women's issues...and party formal, informal and leadership variables...this study will endure as an exemplary piece of political analysis...' - Journal of Latin American Studies

'...a significant and timely contribution...' - Party Politics

Autorentext

FIONA MACAULAY is Lecturer in Development Studies in the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, UK. Her research interests, on which she has published widely, cover gender and politics, decentralization and social policies, human rights and the criminal justice system in Brazil and Latin America.

Inhalt
List of Tables Glossary List of Brazilian States Acknowledgements Introduction Gendered and Gendering Parties PART 1: BRAZIL Porous Parties, Permeable State The Workers' Party, Gender and Feminism O Modo Petista : Local Level Gender Policy PART 2: CHILE In Their Place: The Political Uses of Women Between Ideologies: The National Women's Ministry Decentralization Deficits: Delivering Policy at the Local Level Comparisons and Conclusions Notes and References Index