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Feminist Activism and the Politics of Reform: When and Why Do States Respond to Demands for Gender Equality Policies?

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  • Anne Marie Goetz
  • Rob Jenkins

Abstract

Under what conditions is gender equality policy advocacy successful? This article examines a segment of the largely quantitative comparative political science literature that seeks to answer this question. Recent scholarship emphasizes such factors as the strength of women's movements and the forms of opposition to which their policy demands give rise. However, one consequence of this approach is that the role of strategic choices made by feminist policy advocates is underestimated in explaining their successes. The article argues that understanding variation in the outcomes achieved by women's rights advocates requires close attention to the strategic capacity of policy entrepreneurs, assessed in terms of three inter†related activities: (1) ‘framing’ policy demands; (2) forming and managing civic alliances; and (3) engaging with state entities without compromising organizational autonomy.

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  • Anne Marie Goetz & Rob Jenkins, 2018. "Feminist Activism and the Politics of Reform: When and Why Do States Respond to Demands for Gender Equality Policies?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 49(3), pages 714-734, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:49:y:2018:i:3:p:714-734
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12389
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    Cited by:

    1. LeRoux-Rutledge, Emily, 2020. "Re-evaluating the “traditional”: How the South Sudanese use established gender narratives to advance women’s equality and empowerment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    2. Eunice Wangui Stuhlhofer, 2022. "Black, Female, and Divorced: A Discourse Analysis of Wangarĩ Maathai’s Leadership with Reflections from Naleli Morojele‘s Study of Rwandan and South African Female Political Leaders," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Özlem Altan‐Olcay, 2020. "Politics of Engagement: Gender Expertise and International Governance," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(5), pages 1271-1295, September.

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