Review: Drude Dahlerup: Has Democracy Failed Women?

In lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph of the review: In recent years, researches have been conducted from different perspectives—such as cultural differences, economic influences, and institutional policies—to investigate the existing obstacles limiting women’s participation and leadership in political institutions and organizations worldwide (Thames and Williams 3). There are numerous research literature tackling the topic on the representation of women in politics: for instance, Women, Politics, and Power: A Global Perspective by Pamela Paxton and Melanie M. Hughes has a broad discussion on all factors relating to the political representation of women and presents regional studies on women in political institutions around the globe; Contagious Representation: Women’s Political Representation in Democracies around the World by Frank C. Thames and Margaret S. Williams explains the contagious influences of women’s political participation on both institutional and societal levels; and Torild Skard’s Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers Worldwide gives regional analyses and case studies of women’s political leadership in national institutions. Contributing to the research on women and institutional policies, Drude Dahlerup’s Has Democracy Failed Women focuses on political institution per se with a global perspective and critically engages with the disconnection between women and political institutions both on national and international levels. In particular, Dahlerup investigates how the traditions and policies in political institutions and organizations have resulted in women’s underrepresentation in the political field, why it is of great significance to promote gender equality by adopting gender quotas and women-friendly policies, and what difference can be made in policy-making if national and international political institutions and organizations become more gender-balanced. Moreover, apart from the analysis on political governance, the scope of this book extends further to address women’s representation and perspectives with regard to economic governance and peace-building in transnational or international organizations (121-34).