ABSTRACT
Social science research and press commentary during the 1970s generated a certain amount of contention over the nature and extent of the direct contribution women in industrialised societies have made to politics between the years when the suffrage was first obtained and the ‘second wave’ feminism of the late 1960s emerged. Women were said to be more traditionalist and right-wing, to be temperamentally unsuited to masculine styles of political activity, to adopt unquestioningly their husbands’ political allegiances, to be more swayed by candidates than issues, to be more moralistic, more emotional and less politically aware and interested than men. A person’s willingness to engage in active politics is likely to be related to her economic, social and domestic status. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides evidence of change in the pattern of women’s participation in the nations under consideration.
