Gender and Political Representation in a Global Pandemic

When the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice of politics had to adapt. Grounded in the premise that crises create both obstacles and political opportunities, Gender and Political Representation in a Global Pandemic offers the first sustained examination of what this time meant for women, the legislatures in which they worked, and the issues they tried to advance.Empirically rigorous and methodologically diverse, the volume spans political institutions, behaviour, and women's representation in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Sweden. Leading scholars explore how shifting political priorities, institutional restrictions, and gendered norms shaped whose voices were heard, who was deemed authoritative, and who was able to participate in political life. Political institutions were remarkably resilient, but alongside persistent barriers were moments of change that showed disruption can be a prologue to the transformation of established rules and norms.Necessary and wide-ranging, Gender and Political Representation in a Global Pandemic suggests a way forward for gender equality advocates and reformers, should future crises confront elections, voters, and legislative institutions.