Sarah Childs - Böcker

Women, Gender, and Politics brings together both classic and recent readings on central topics in the study of gender and politics, and places an emphasis on comparing developed and developing countries. Genuinely international in its focus, the book is divided into five sections to reflect the range of research in the subfield: (1) women and social movements, (2) women and political parties, (3) women, gender, and elections, (4) women, gender, and public policies, and (5) women, gender, and the state. Each section serves as an introduction to general trends in thinking about women and politics, and the readings capture the ways that research has developed both thematically and chronologically in all of the five broad areas. The volume's innovative design, global approach, and comprehensive coverage make it an ideal teaching book and a valuable resource for students and scholars throughout the world.

Women, Gender, and Politics brings together both classic and recent readings on central topics in the study of gender and politics, and places an emphasis on comparing developed and developing countries. Genuinely international in its focus, the book is divided into five sections to reflect the range of research in the subfield: (1) women and social movements, (2) women and political parties, (3) women, gender, and elections, (4) women, gender, and public policies, and (5) women, gender, and the state. Each section serves as an introduction to general trends in thinking about women and politics, and the readings capture the ways that research has developed both thematically and chronologically in all of the five broad areas. The volume's innovative design, global approach, and comprehensive coverage make it an ideal teaching book and a valuable resource for students and scholars throughout the world.

Is it possible to design and build feminist legislatures? If so, how and by and with whom? Designing Feminist Institutions provides a novel study of feminist institutionalism in practice. Drawing on her own ethnographic research within the UK Parliament, Sarah Childs suggests that political institutions in need of gender sensitizing would benefit from the perspective of feminist academic critical actors. Childs defines these scholars as both analysts and agents of change, who are embedded in legislatures to think about institutional design from the inside out. As a feminist academic critical actor inside the UK House of Commons, Childs negotiated the highly masculinized political arena--confronting questions of access, legitimacy, authority, accountability, ethics, and safety. In this book, she evaluates these experiences, as well as new gendered dynamics, and critical moments to present her vision of The Good Parliament. In so doing, she explores the 'why', 'how' and 'what' of institutional re-gendering.Through vignettes, participant observation, original interviews, and parliamentary analysis, Childs illustrates wider lessons in redesigning and refashioning feminist institutions and sheds light on the particularities of allyship, resistance, and backlash. She asks, too, what new ethical issues arise when academics are intent on bringing about change, how to navigate competing political objectives, and what is 'in the interest' of women when it comes to representative democracy. Designing Feminist Institutions advances feminist institutionalist theory through a novel consideration of the experience, knowledge, and perspectives necessary to instigate and institute feminist change.

Women and British Party Politics examines the characteristics of women’s participation at the mass and elite level in contemporary British politics; as voters, party members and elected representatives respectively. It explores what this means for ideas about, and the practice of, descriptive, substantive and symbolic representation. The main focus is on the feminization of British party politics - the integration of women into formal political institutions and the integration of women’s concerns and perspectives into political debate and policy - in the post-1997 period. Not only specifically designed to bring together cutting-edge conceptual developments in the sub-discipline of gender and politics, with robust British empirical research, this book also presents reflections on how best to study gender and politics. The empirical findings which are presented through the extensive use of case studies derive from a range of research projects which were undertaken over a period of ten years, and which make use of a variety of research methods and techniques. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in British Politics, Feminism and European Studies; and will provide the reader with an overview of the complex relationship between sex, gender and politics in a conceptually sophisticated fashion.

Women and British Party Politics examines the characteristics of women’s participation at the mass and elite level in contemporary British politics; as voters, party members and elected representatives respectively. It explores what this means for ideas about, and the practice of, descriptive, substantive and symbolic representation. The main focus is on the feminization of British party politics - the integration of women into formal political institutions and the integration of women’s concerns and perspectives into political debate and policy - in the post-1997 period. Not only specifically designed to bring together cutting-edge conceptual developments in the sub-discipline of gender and politics, with robust British empirical research, this book also presents reflections on how best to study gender and politics. The empirical findings which are presented through the extensive use of case studies derive from a range of research projects which were undertaken over a period of ten years, and which make use of a variety of research methods and techniques. This book will appeal to all those with an interest in British Politics, Feminism and European Studies; and will provide the reader with an overview of the complex relationship between sex, gender and politics in a conceptually sophisticated fashion.

It was not long after the election of a record number of women to the House of Commons in 1997 that the backlash began. The criticism was all-encompassing: they wore the wrong clothes, they voted the wrong way and they were concerned with the wrong issues. Above all, they were accused of failing to make difference, to have failed women, and were dismissed by some as ‘Blair’s Babes’. Drawing on in-depth interviews with more than half of the new Labour women MPs, Sarah Childs reveals how these women actually experienced being MPs, and explores whether they acted for and like women – in their constituencies, in parliament and in government. She presents important insights into theories of women’s political representation, showing that the relationship between women’s descriptive and substantive representation is complicated, that party and gender identities are crucial, that women’s differences must be acknowledged and that it might not always be possible for women representatives to act for women even if they want to.Including a key section on women’s selection for parliament; whether women MPs act as role models; why it is important that women should be present in politics; as well as exploring in depth the subject of women’s substantive representation, New Labour’s Women MPs is essential reading for all those interested in women and politics, legislative studies, political behaviour and representation.

It was not long after the election of a record number of women to the House of Commons in 1997 that the backlash began. The criticism was all-encompassing: they wore the wrong clothes, they voted the wrong way and they were concerned with the wrong issues. Above all, they were accused of failing to make difference, to have failed women, and were dismissed by some as ‘Blair’s Babes’. Drawing on in-depth interviews with more than half of the new Labour women MPs, Sarah Childs reveals how these women actually experienced being MPs, and explores whether they acted for and like women – in their constituencies, in parliament and in government. She presents important insights into theories of women’s political representation, showing that the relationship between women’s descriptive and substantive representation is complicated, that party and gender identities are crucial, that women’s differences must be acknowledged and that it might not always be possible for women representatives to act for women even if they want to.Including a key section on women’s selection for parliament; whether women MPs act as role models; why it is important that women should be present in politics; as well as exploring in depth the subject of women’s substantive representation, New Labour’s Women MPs is essential reading for all those interested in women and politics, legislative studies, political behaviour and representation.