Gender equality progress has been uneven in the last century but the most tangible signposts have been in the realms of law and politics. Whether it is the expanding franchise, representation and inclusion of women in government or it is the administrative guarantees and institutionalisation of rights and benefits, it has been easier to count and account for these changes than attitudinal or cultural transformation. In the last decade, compounded by a global impulse to populism and authoritarianism, these hard-won gains have begun to erode.
*What is the status–progress or erosion–of women in politics? More broadly speaking, have gender equality values found or lost expression in public affairs and politics?
*What are the advances in our understanding of the relationship between government and gender politics based on Global South research on feminist institutionalism?
*How do patriarchal structures and paternalistic styles impact the implementation of gender equality laws and mandates?
*How have shrinking spaces and expanding regulations of civil society impacted movements for women’s rights and gender equality across the world?
After almost a century of advocacy and research, women’s equal representation and gender-inclusive politics remain aspirational in most of the world. This panel is open to theoretical and empirical work; single and comparative case studies, and quantitative or qualitative work based on research questions relating to these RC07 interests.