Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective provides a clear, detailed introduction to women’s political participation and representation across a wide range of countries and regions. Through broad statistical overviews and detailed case-study accounts, the authors document both historical trends and the contemporary state of women’s political strength. Readers see the cultural, structural, political, and international influences on women’s access to political power, and the difference women make once in political office.



The fourth edition includes the latest information available on women in politics around the world, including current events as they have unfolded across the globe. The newest thinking in the field is presented, including on violence against women in politics.



Approach and Features

Nine thematic chapters explain women’s access to office in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and why it matters. Six chapters cover women’s political power in specific geographic regions with recent research and events.The book’s intersectional perspective attends to the ways gender interacts with other forms of difference, both throughout the volume and in a dedicated chapter.A bounty of figures, maps, and tables provide visual accounts of the variations in women’s access to political power around the world, the growth in women’s political power over time, and persistent obstacles to gender equality in politics.