Abstract
This article provides a case study analysis of the provision of gender and political studies education in the United Kingdom (UK). The article notes the lack of gender and politics modules available to students at the undergraduate level and links this to the under-representation of women within the discipline but also to the wider political and economic context. The article reflects upon the extent to which the study of gender and politics has been promoted within the UK, arguing that despite the key role played by national groups such as the Political Studies Association’s Women and Politics group, the wider discipline is yet to view gender as a core part of the curricula.
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Notes
We use the term ‘political studies’ as opposed to ‘political science’ as that more accurately reflects the nature of the discipline in the UK.
Although UCAS states there are 105 institutions that offer degrees in politics, we have excluded the following institutions because they do not run a single honours degree in politics or international relations, which means that the range of politics modules offered is very small: University of Bedfordshire, Blackpool, Fylde College, Edge Hill University, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot Watt, Hertfordshire, Heythrop College, University of the Highlands and Islands, IFS college, Loughborough College, Newnham College, Northampton, Open University, Portsmouth and Roehampton.
Women and Politics, available at: http://psawomenpolitics.com/, accessed 2 October 2014.
Examples include Joni Lovenduski, who has acted as a consultant on gender and politics for various organisations including the European Commission and the Council of Europe, and Fiona Mackay, who directs the Feminism and Institutionalism International Network (FIIN)
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evans, e., amery, f. gender and politics in the UK: banished to the sidelines. Eur Polit Sci 15, 314–321 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2015.79
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2015.79