ABSTRACT
Chapter 10, “Public Policy on Women’s Rights and Equity Issues,” examines the outcomes that the political activism chronicled in this text produced in the way of substantive representation of issues of particular concern to women in the policy-making process and the enactment of laws centering on women’s rights and equity. The chapter asks what women in elective office achieved for women. What are the ways in which female lawmakers have affected the policy-making process? This question is addressed through several lenses. The first section of this chapter centers on women’s styles as lawmakers and trends in their formal legislative leadership. The second section explores the substantive impact on policy making. In keeping with the central theme of this work, it pays particular attention to the economic aspects of public policy. The third section explores equality issues on the legislative agenda in the contemporary era of the early decades of the new millennium.
