As Argentina, Brazil, and Chile made transitions from democratic to authoritarian forms of government (and back), they confronted challenges posed by the rise of the feminist movement, social changes, and the power of the Catholic Church. This study explores the patterns of gender-related policy reform in these countries and reveals their implications for the peoples of Latin America. In addition, it offers a broader understanding of the logic behind the state's role in affecting private lives and gender relations everywhere.

When and why do governments promote women's rights? Through comparative analysis of state action in seventy countries from 1975 to 2005, this book shows how different women's rights issues involve different histories, trigger different conflicts, and activate different sets of protagonists. Change on violence against women and workplace equality involves a logic of status politics: feminist movements leverage international norms to contest women's subordination. Family law, abortion, and contraception, which challenge the historical claim of religious groups to regulate kinship and reproduction, conform to a logic of doctrinal politics, which turns on relations between religious groups and the state. Publicly-paid parental leave and child care follow a logic of class politics, in which the strength of Left parties and overall economic conditions are more salient. The book reveals the multiple and complex pathways to gender justice, illuminating the opportunities and obstacles to social change for policymakers, advocates, and others seeking to advance women's rights.

This book analyzes why and how fifteen Latin American countries modified their political institutions to promote the inclusion of women, Afrodescendants, and indigenous peoples. Through analysis and comparison of experiences in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, the book accounts for the origins of quotas and reserved seats in international norms and civic mobilization. It shows how the configuration of political institutions and the structure of excluded groups set the terms and processes of inclusion. Arguing that the new mechanisms have delivered inclusion but not representation, the book demonstrates that quotas and reserved seats increased the presence in power of excluded groups but did not create constituencies or generate civic movements able to authorize or hold accountable their representatives.

This book analyzes why and how fifteen Latin American countries modified their political institutions to promote the inclusion of women, Afrodescendants, and indigenous peoples. Through analysis and comparison of experiences in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, the book accounts for the origins of quotas and reserved seats in international norms and civic mobilization. It shows how the configuration of political institutions and the structure of excluded groups set the terms and processes of inclusion. Arguing that the new mechanisms have delivered inclusion but not representation, the book demonstrates that quotas and reserved seats increased the presence in power of excluded groups but did not create constituencies or generate civic movements able to authorize or hold accountable their representatives.

As Argentina, Brazil, and Chile made transitions from democratic to authoritarian forms of government (and back), they confronted challenges posed by the rise of the feminist movement, social changes, and the power of the Catholic Church. This study explores the patterns of gender-related policy reform in these countries and reveals their implications for the peoples of Latin America. In addition, it offers a broader understanding of the logic behind the state's role in affecting private lives and gender relations everywhere.

When and why do governments promote women's rights? Through comparative analysis of state action in seventy countries from 1975 to 2005, this book shows how different women's rights issues involve different histories, trigger different conflicts, and activate different sets of protagonists. Change on violence against women and workplace equality involves a logic of status politics: feminist movements leverage international norms to contest women's subordination. Family law, abortion, and contraception, which challenge the historical claim of religious groups to regulate kinship and reproduction, conform to a logic of doctrinal politics, which turns on relations between religious groups and the state. Publicly-paid parental leave and child care follow a logic of class politics, in which the strength of Left parties and overall economic conditions are more salient. The book reveals the multiple and complex pathways to gender justice, illuminating the opportunities and obstacles to social change for policymakers, advocates, and others seeking to advance women's rights.

Electoral rules help to make democracy work. Small variations in them influence the type of democracy that develops. The field of political science has defined the study of why and how this happens. Political scientists have contributed to the world of electoral systems as scientists and as engineers. Taking stock of recent scientific research, this report shows that context modifies the effects of electoral rules on political outcomes in specific and systematic ways. It explores how electoral rules shape party systems, the inclusion of women and minorities, the depth and nature of political competition, and patterns of redistribution and regulation. It considers institutional innovations that could promote political equality. Finally, the report describes the diverse ways that political scientists are producing an impact on the world by sharing and applying their knowledge of the consequences of electoral rules and global trends in reform.