Women, Politics, and Democracy in Latin America

"Women, Politics and Democracy offers a unique contribution to the fields of comparative politics and gender studies. More importantly, the volume will prove useful for practitioners, politicians and those who influence public policies that seek to promote gender equality. A rights-based approach informs the analysis putting women's human rights at the heart of the public policy proposals offered in this volume. With both academic rigor and the wisdom of policy practice, the volume illustrates that institutional changes are not sufficient to guarantee the full exercise of women's political rights, as voters, as party members and as candidates." (Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States) "What can explain the fact that in a continent where machismo, social inequality and femicides still exist, there is proportionally the greatest legislative representation of women in the world? This representation is such that the Americas is today the continent that leads the democratization process of political representation, including that of sexual diversity. A read-through the authors' analysis and conclusions of "Women, Politics and Democracy" offer a critical and at the same time, coherent review of this reality. The volume puts the different pieces in the right places of an unfinished puzzle. The puzzle is not complete because the analysis does not pretend to give the full picture but trimmings of a regional outlook for women that confuses and fascinates at the same time." (Line Bareiro, Researcher at the Regional Training Program on Gender and Public Policy - PRIGEPP (FLACSO Argentina) and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)) "The editors have assembled an intellectually and geographically diverse team of stellar scholars who together deepen and extend existing lines of scholarly inquiry on the election, representation and participation of women in Latin America while simultaneously breaking new ground in the study of continuing barriers to, and opportunities for, greater gender equality in Latin America's democracies." (Mark P. Jones, Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, Rice University, USA)

This book discusses the current tendencies in women’s representation and their role in politics in Latin American countries from three different perspectives.

This book discusses the current tendencies in women’s representation and their role in politics in Latin American countries from three different perspectives. Firstly, the authors examine cultural, political-partisan and organizational obstacles that women face in and outside institutions. Secondly, the book explores barriers in political reality, such as gender legislation implementation, public administration and international cooperation, and proposes solutions, supported by successful experiences, emphasising the nonlinearity of the implementation process. Thirdly, the authors highlight the role of women in politics at the subnational level. The book combines academic expertise in various disciplines with contributions from practitioners within national and international institutions to broaden the reader’s understanding of women in Latin American politics.