ABSTRACT
In the light of evidence on the widespread and enduring inequalities between women and men presented throughout this book, in this chapter I consider the involvement of women in political activity as a key means of improving women’s status and position in society. The first part of the chapter focuses on the presence of women in formal politics, especially in parliament and in government. I examine the argument that, the more women in positions of power in these key institutions, the better women’s issues and concerns are represented and the greater likelihood there is of attaining gender equality throughout society. In the second part of the chapter, I develop the idea that women’s participation in formal politics is a necessary but not sufficient strategy to achieve gender equality, through a focus on feminism as a social movement: its achievements, status and influence at the closing of the twentieth century.
