Has Liberalism Failed Women?: Assuring Equal Representation In Europe And The United States (parity Quotas And Political Representation)

"This book comes out of a conference in April of 1999 at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University on the topic of 'Gender Parity and the Liberal Tradition: Proposals and Debates in Europe and the United States.' It is a collection of short essays that attempt to capture the theoretical arguments and policy changes presented at the conference. The essays are divided into three sections, each of which approaches from a different angle the central question of whether liberalism has failed women. The first section aims to frame the discussion by outlining the theoretical arguments for the amendments or revisions implied by the proponents of the Parity Movement in Europe and for the concerns raised by critics. The second describes recent changes in party rules, European legal framework, and national constitutions, as well as the gains made by women in response to rule change. The third section provides American perspectives on the lessons that parity advocates might draw from affirmative action policies and speculations about how parity rules would work in the American context. The essays are drawn from top European and American scholars."--Publisher description Front Matter....Pages i-vii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction: New Perspectives on the Use of Parity Mandates and Quotas to Guarantee Equality between Men and Women....Pages 3-17 The Descriptive Political Representation of Gender: An Anti-Essentialist Argument....Pages 19-38 The Politics of Parity: Can Legal Intervention Neutralize the Gender Divide?....Pages 39-54 The French Parity Movement....Pages 55-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Constitutionalizing Equal Access: High Hopes, Dashed Hopes?....Pages 69-88 Breaking the Barriers: Positive Discrimination Policies for Women....Pages 89-110 Women and the Third Way: Collaboration and Conflict....Pages 111-121 Changing the Rules of the Game: The Role of Law and the Effects of Party Reforms on Gender Parity in Germany....Pages 123-139 Front Matter....Pages 141-141 From Equal Pay to Parity Democracy: The Rocky Ride of Women’s Policy in the European Union....Pages 143-163 Quotas, Parity, and the Discursive Dangers of Difference....Pages 165-176 Constitutional Reform and Gender Mandates....Pages 177-181 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 The Distinctive Barriers to Gender Equality....Pages 185-199 Representation and the Electoral Interests of Women and African Americans: A Convergence at Last?....Pages 201-208 When Women Voted for the Right: Lessons for Today from the Conservative Gender Gap....Pages 209-228 Back Matter....Pages 229-243