Women Presidents and Prime Ministers in Post-Transition Democracies

"This book deftly combines theoretical explanations for the scarcity of women in chief executive political roles worldwide using case studies of women as leaders across Latin American, African, Asian, and post-transition European contexts. Explaining why female chief executives are so rare combines sociological, cultural, economic, and political threads and provides the reader with a platform to analyze the particular cases that follow and the obstacles as well as possibilities that confront gender-based reforms proposed by women political leaders. Overall, this book provides a nice combination of generalized explanation and specific social and political contexts and is shaped through an excellent introduction by the editor." (Professor Emeritus Bert A. Rockman, Purdue University, USA)

This book contributes to our understanding of the trajectories and prerogatives of female political leaders in the varying context of democratization, political institutions and cultural norms.This book contributes to our understanding of the trajectories and prerogatives of female political leaders in the varying context of democratization, political institutions and cultural norms. No woman had been elected leader of a country before 1960, but with democratic transitions on the rise since the 1970s, the number of women in executive office gradually became a trend of global scope. In 2015, nineteen countries had an elected female Head of State and/or Government, a proportionally small number that is expected to climb as more women compete for high office, sometimes against other female candidates. This volume compares how women executives differ in promoting gender equality and advocating for women’s rights and interests, as well as in their ability to negotiate gender policy agendas. Comparative and theoretical chapters on post-transition women leaders are complemented by case studies in eight countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern and Central Europe. This book will be of use to students and scholars interested in gender studies, comparative politics, and political leadership.