Politics Close to Home: The Impact of Meso-level Institutions on Women in Politics

Abstract

Scholars recognize a worldwide increase in decentralization as well as the prevalence of multilevel governance in Europe. This article examines the advantages and disadvantages that meso-level institutions present for women's political representation in three European Union member-states that are decentralized, unitary states. Using the framework of the triangle of women's empowerment, we ask whether women are represented in meso-level legislatures, women's policy agencies, and women's movements in Italy, Spain, and Poland. We find that gains in meso-level legislatures are slow, but meso-level women's policy agencies and movements provide important access for women to politics. Like scholars studying women and federalism, we conclude that decentralized institutions in unitary states offer both opportunities for and impediments to feminist policy and activism.

The gender politics of executive candidate selection and reselection

“…While meso-level institutions may open new windows of opportunity for women's representation by 'bring [ing] politics close to home' (Ortbals et al 2012), our results show that women have not shattered the glass ceiling at the regional level and pinpoint several ways through which the gender politics is played out. Female candidates are held to higher standards than male candidates, benefit less from the political resources they possess and are more dependent on the decision environment in which parties select top candidates.…”

Sex in the city: gender mainstreaming urban governance in Europe. The case of Sweden and Italy

“…The most important reason for this lies in the much longer Swedish democratic tradition of incremental egalitarian planning and policymaking in practices of urban governance, and in Sweden's overall higher political pressure on gender-sensitive practices. As also inferred from Guadagnini and Donà (2007), Borchorst and Siim (2008), the European Commission (2000,2011,2012), Ortbals et al (2011) and Pettersson (2012), other underlying reasons are the comparatively higher educational level of women in Sweden and their commonly stronger capacity to empower themselves (which is related to the remarkably more pronounced double role of Swedish women as carers and waged workers); the relatively low level of female political participation in Italy, which in general has led to a paucity of gender awareness; the rather more ad hoc instruments for implementing gender mainstreaming policies in Italy; and the substantially more male-streamed culture of urban governance in Italy, which to a large extent depends upon its widespread traditional, patriarchal society. All in all, Sweden has witnessed a comparatively stronger institutionalization of gender awareness and a more structural embedding of gender mainstreaming within urban governance than Italy.…”

“…On the basis of their insights, to boot, one can find that although the Italian political landscape is increasingly regionally polarized and political power chiefly remains a male privilege in Italy today, the female presence Sex in the city: gender mainstreaming urban governance... in politics and urban administration in particular is increasing due to a generally augmenting permissive mindset (for facts and figures on Italy's genderequality machinery in multilevel governance, see Guadagnini & Donà 2007;Ortbals et al 2011). This may have a positive influence on policy commitment to social welfare and cultural difference (cf.…”

“…Namely, the further closing of gender gaps in education and at the professional level, and the supply of ad hoc institutions supervising the implementation of gender-equality rationales, which includes the provision of workshops on job training, and campaigns aimed at combatting gender violence and improving the health of women (Ortbals et al 2011, see also Droste et al 2005. These legislative endeavours, stirred by the Ministry of Equal Opportunities and the National Committee for Equal Opportunities at Work, are supposed to advance equal socio-economic opportunities regarding work, education, entrepreneurship, provision for maternity and paternity, and the like.…”

Women Chief Executives: The Political Catch-22 of Counterterrorism

“…Content analyses of news media affirm that women are portrayed as out of place when participating in male domains such as national security and terrorism. [86] When examining the narratives of women in the war on terror, women are not perceived as legitimate actors with a sense of agency. This framing is evident even in countries in which women enjoy a relative status of equality with men.…”