Women and Political Participation

The main point of the book is that women's political participation is a product of cultural change. To illustrate this point, the authors begin the book with a historical overview of women and politics. From colonial times to the 19th century, women focused their efforts on overcoming the barriers to full participation in political activities. The authors discuss women's political status prior to and after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. The progress made by early women activists is astonishing, considering the formidable institutional barriers against them: "All the major institutions of society--state and national legislatures, the courts, the political parties, the press, religious organizations--were arrayed against the women's movement" (11). Fortunately, since the enactment of th

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ach the doctrine of patriarchal authority. For whatever reason, not only do men and women differ in terms of political beliefs, men tend to be more political knowledgeable than women, particularly regarding politics on the national level: "When knowledge levels of women are compared to those of men with similar occupational status and levels of income and education, women are found to be less knowledgeable about national government and politics" (47). In general, women are more supportive of the use of government assistance for social services. Women are also less likely to support military programs or the use of force to resolve conflict. In terms of political parties, women align themselves with Democrats more frequently than men. Despite these differences, both women and men hold similar attitudes regarding government bureaucracy and abortion policy. The authors also analyze the circumstances that enhance women's political participation. One of these factors is gender consciousness. Gender consciousness is defined as: "Elements of positive feelings toward other group members, perceptions of group advantage or disadvantage relative to other groups, and a sense of collective destiny" (34). Women's organizations have fa
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Approximate Word count = 1948
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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