Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective

(Hardback, Fifth Edition)

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Women, Politics, and Power provides a clear and detailed introduction to womens political participation and representation across all branches of government and a wide range of countries and regions. Using broad statistical overviews and detailed case-study accounts, authors Pamela Paxton, Melanie M. Hughes, and Tiffany D. Barnes document both historical trends and the contemporary state of womens political strength across diverse countries.

The text considers experiences of women from a range of marginalized groups, including racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; indigenous peoples; and those that face discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Readers will learn about cultural, structural, political, and international influences on womens access to political power, about the old and new barriers women continue to face like violence, and about the difference women make once in political office. Dedicated chapters on six geographic regions highlight distinct influences and patterns in different parts of the world. There is simply no other book that offers such a thorough and multidisciplinary synthesis of research on womens political power around the world.

The fifth 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 and intersectional approaches.

Reviews

Women, Politics, and Power is my go-to course book for undergraduate courses and an essential resource for graduate students and scholars working on gender and politics. It expertly reviews the most cutting-edge research and puts it all in conversation with where the discipline is heading. -- Amanda Clayton, The University of California, Berkeley
This is the book you want your students to read before class; accessible and comprehensive; engaging and pacy; combining conceptual clarity alongside illustrative empirical examples; and introductory and yet extensively illustrated, substantiated, and evidenced. Women, Politics, and Power is a critical resource too for the lecturer, with its focus in the first section on historical patterns, theories of representation, and intersectionality and difference, followed by a second section that provides global coverage via a deeper regional overview. Its in-text referencing and extensive bibliography enables all readers to thereafter follow their own interests in politics and gender yet further. -- Sarah Childs, University of Edinburgh
This is the most comprehensive and accessible textbook on women, gender, and politics from a global perspective. The book reflects the state-of-the-art literature and provides powerful vignettes to illustrate key points. Situating women in U.S. politics in a comparative context is an especially useful contribution. -- Aili Mari Tripp, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Women, Politics, and Power is a must-read text for all students and researchers seeking a compact yet thorough summary of the key developments in the field of womens political representation. The book takes a global and intersectional perspective. The chapters cover the latest cutting-edge research, including backlash to womens political empowerment. I use this book for all my gender and politics courses. -- Jennifer M. Piscopo, Royal Holloway, University of London
Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective is a tour de force. The authors thoughtfully examine when women access power, why they remain excluded, why representation matters, and what a more gender-equal political world could look like. With impressive breadth and depth, the book integrates classic theories and the latest scholarship, spanning from the suffrage movement to today, across world regions. It is essential reading for anyone teaching or researching gender and politics. * Diana Z. O'Brien, Bela Kornitzer Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Washington University in Saint Louis *
With each new edition, Women, Politics, and Power, by Paxton, Hughes, and Barnes, cements its reputation as the essential introduction to gender and politics. This updated volume masterfully combines historical insight with state-of-the-art research and the latest influential theoretical approaches, offering a global perspective on the fields most pressing issues. Comprehensive and topical, the book is an invaluable resource for anyone engaged with the study of gender and politics. * Elin Bjarnegrd, Uppsala University *
This book is an unparalleled resource and teaching tool. It pairs classic theoretical explanations of womens (lack of, or quest for) power with cutting edge research findings in sociology, political science, and economics. Written by three leading gender and politics scholars, this is an essential read for researchers and teachers alike. * Dawn Teele, SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University *

Author Bio

Pamela Paxton is the Linda K. George and John Wilson Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in economics and sociology and her PhD in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has consulted for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Academies. She has intersecting research interests in prosocial behavior, politics, gender, and methodology. She is the author of articles and books on women in politics, nonprofits, and quantitative methodology. Her research has appeared in a variety of journals, including American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Comparative Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and Legislative Studies Quarterly. She is also an author of Nonrecursive Models: Endogeneity, Reciprocal Relationships, and Feedback Loops (2011).
Melanie M. Hughes is a professor of sociology, has a secondary appointment in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and is a codirector of the Gender Inequality Research Lab (GIRL) at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds a BA in government and sociology from the University of Texas and an MA and PhD in sociology from the Ohio State University. Her research considers how gender intersects with other forces of marginalization to influence womens political power. She has published numerous articles on womens legislative representation cross-nationally in journals such as American Political Science Review, American Sociological Review, European Journal of Political Research, and Politics & Gender. Currently, she is consulting with the United Nations Development Programme to increase the availability of data on women in decision-making positions in public administration. She is also writing a book on the political dominance of men from majority racial, ethnic, and religious groups worldwide.
Tiffany D. Barnes is professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. She received a BA in political science from Southwestern University and her PhD in political science from Rice University. Her research focuses on gender and politics, Latin America, and comparative political institutions. Her first book Gendering Legislative Behavior (Cambridge University Press 2016) won the Alan Rosenthal Prize in 2017. Her newest book, Working Class Inclusion (Cambridge University Press 2023) won the Richard F. Fenno Jr. Prize (2024). Her other research appears in journals such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Politics & Gender. She was awarded the Emerging Scholar Award from the Legislative Studies Section of the APSA and the Early Career Award from the Midwest Womens Caucus for Political Science. She formerly served as the president for the Midwest Womens Caucus, editor of Legislative Studies Quarterly, and associate editor at Research & Politics. She is currently an executive editor at the British Journal of Political Science and a series editor for Cambridge Elements in Gender & Politics Series.