ABSTRACT
The processes of democratization in postcommunist Latvia did not include the development of a robust gender equality agenda in spite of women’s activism in pro-independence social movements and participation in postcommunist state building. Women played significant roles in the opposition to Soviet occupation leading up to the reestablishment of independence in 1991, and Latvia was home to the region’s first elected woman executive in 1999. At the same time, the democratization process in Latvia has been characterized by key paradoxes, which are a focal point of this chapter. Public discourse highlighted the imperative of “normalization” after a half-century of Soviet rule, which was widely perceived as having deformed Latvian national norms, institutions, and traditions, including gender roles. Equality between the sexes, rather than being embraced as a fundamental characteristic of democracy, was widely associated with Soviet ideology and practices. In spite of a slow but steady rise in Latvian women’s representation in political institutions, the development of policies and institutions directed at ensuring gender equality between men and women has remained a marginal political priority, nudged onto the public agenda largely by mandates associated with Latvia’s accession to the European Union.
