Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Politics Closer To Home: The Impact Of Subnational Institutions On Women In Politics, Candice Ortbals

Candice D. Ortbals

Scholars recognize a worldwide increase in decentralization as well as the prevalence of multilevel governance in Europe. This article examines the advantages and disadvantages that meso-level institutions present for women’s political representation in three European Union member-states that are decentralized, unitary states. Using the framework of the triangle of women’s empowerment, we ask whether women are represented in meso-level legislatures, women’s policy agencies, and women’s movements in Italy, Spain, and Poland. We find that gains in meso-level legislatures are slow, but meso-level women’s policy agencies and movements provide important access for women to politics. Like scholars studying women and federalism, …