Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Politics and Gender

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

  • 30 Accesses

Synonyms

Gender expression; Gender identity; Gendered institutions; Gendered leadership; Gendered policy

Definition

Gender: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.

Introduction: What Is Gender?

What is gender and what does it have to do with politics? Definitions of gender and gender identity have changed drastically over time and continue to be disputed. Traditional conceptualizations define gender as “the state of being male or female.” More nuanced definitions suggest that gender is more accurately “the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex” (Merriam-Webster). There is now widespread consensus that gender, like race, is a social construct – meaning that it is an idea that was created through cultural and societal practices, rather than a reality constructed by nature. Gender is distinct from sex, the latter of which refers to one’s biological anatomy, such as chromosomes, gonads, reproductive...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 3,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acker J (1992) From sex roles to gendered institutions. Contemp Sociol 21(5):565–569

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beckwith K (2014) Plotting the path from one to the other: women’s interests and political representation. In: Escobar-Lemmon MC, Taylor-Robinson MM (eds) Representation: the case of women. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 158–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll A, Itaborahy LP (2015) State-sponsored homophobia: a world survey of laws: criminalisation, protection, and recognition of same-sex love. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association Report, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) Alcohol and pregnancy: why take the risk? Vital signs report. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/fasd/index.html

  • Eagly AH, Johnson BT (1990) Gender and leadership style: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 108(2):233–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Equality Now. January 2015. Words & deeds: holding governments accountable in the Beijing+20 review process. Equality Now Beijing+20 ending sex discrimination in the law report, 4th edn

    Google Scholar 

  • Funk K, Taylor-Robinson MM (2014) Gender balance in committees and how it impacts participation: evidence from Costa Rica’s legislative assembly. Rev Uruguaya Cien Política 23(2):111–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Heath RM, Schwindt-Bayer LA, Taylor-Robinson MM (2005) Women on the sidelines: women’s representation on committees in Latin American legislatures. Am J Polit Sci 49(2):420–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanter RM (1977) Some effects of proportions on group life: skewed sex ratios and responses to token women. Am J Sociol 82(5):965–990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keiser L, Wilkins VM, Meier KJ, Holland CA (2002) Lipstick and logarithms: Gender, institutional context, and representative bureaucracy. Am Polit Sci Rev 96(3):553–564

    Google Scholar 

  • Krook ML, O’Brien DZ (2012) All the president’s men? The appointment of female cabinet ministers worldwide. J Polit 74(3):840–855

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center (2015) Changing attitudes on gay marriage. Published online on July 29, 2015. http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/. Accessed 8 Mar 2016

  • Pitkin HF (1967) The concept of representation. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Prewitt SR (2010) Giving birth to a rapist’s child: a discussion and analysis of the limited legal protections afforded to women who become mothers through rape. Georgetown Law J 98:827–862

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MK, Haslam SA, Kulich C (2010) Politics and the glass cliff: evidence that women are preferentially selected to contest hard-to-win seats. Psychol Women Q 34(1):56–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stivers C (2002) Gender images in public administration: legitimacy and the administrative state, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Tripp AM, Kang A (2008) The global impact of quotas on the fast track to increased female legislative representation. Comp Political Stud 41(3):338–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Kendall D. Funk

Authors
  1. Kendall D. Funk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kendall D. Funk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Funk, K.D. (2018). Politics and Gender. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2447

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation