ABSTRACT
How useful is the concept of social capital in explaining differences in patterns of political participation among women and men? This challenge is explored here with particular reference to local politics and governance in Britain. 2 I investigate whether women have access to the same quantity of social capital as men, whether their social capital is of the same type, and whether they use their social capital in the same way as men. Taking forward the “capital” analogy, I look at how much wealth women have, and the extent to which they invest their capital in political activity. As well as providing new insights into women's political behavior, the analysis illuminates key issues for the broader social capital debate—regarding the distribution of social capital within communities, and the nature of the link between networks of sociability and patterns of political engagement.
