Reports
NAVIGATING POPULISM : Women’s Struggle for Political Representation
- Women's Rights Team
- 1 July 2024
Over the last few decades, there has been an overall increase in the representation of women in political and decision-making positions, although this progress is uneven and uncertain (Fellegi, Hrbková, Dubrow, 2023). Feminists’ demands are increasingly heard and supported by institutions, both international and national. However, this progress in women’s representation and the defence of women’s rights can lead to two phenomena which are detrimental to these causes. Firstly, greater recognition of women’s rights can lead to a “backlash” phenomenon, a violent retreat from women’s rights in response to this advance. Backlash can be defined as “a response to feminist movements that are effectively making changes to create a more egalitarian and just society” (Bojanic, Abadía, Moro, 2021). Thus, when a backlash occurs in a country, it should be analysed as proof that women’s rights initially improved. The backlash phenomenon also highlights the fact that increasing the representation of women in politics does not systematically lead to an improvement in women’s rights.
Secondly, the growing importance of feminist demands in the political arena can lead to the instrumentalisation of these demands by political parties. This is particularly true of populist parties. Populism is a political program or movement that claims to represent the common person against an elite or establishment while criticising political representation and everything that mediates between the people and their government (Lacatus, Meibauer, 2022). From Trump in the US, Erdogan in Turkey, Weidel in Germany, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Salvini or Meloni in Italy, and Modi in India, populist leaders around the globe each have unique features but all seem to rely heavily on gendered stereotypes to advance a national strategy that breaks with traditional party politics.
This report questions how political parties instrumentalise women for electoral purposes or to retain power. It will attempt to illustrate the gendered nature of populism and the inherently intertwining themes of societal gendered considerations with populism power politics and its impact on women’s political representation and ability to exist in the public sphere. Although global trends and similarities can be observed on an international scale, this report will put forward the specificities of the following geographical areas: Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and North Africa. The intricacies of each area’s own historical, political, and social context provide a more comprehensive overview and greatly shape the way populism interacts with women’s rights.
Secondly, the growing importance of feminist demands in the political arena can lead to the instrumentalisation of these demands by political parties. This is particularly true of populist parties. Populism is a political program or movement that claims to represent the common person against an elite or establishment while criticising political representation and everything that mediates between the people and their government (Lacatus, Meibauer, 2022). From Trump in the US, Erdogan in Turkey, Weidel in Germany, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Salvini or Meloni in Italy, and Modi in India, populist leaders around the globe each have unique features but all seem to rely heavily on gendered stereotypes to advance a national strategy that breaks with traditional party politics.
This report questions how political parties instrumentalise women for electoral purposes or to retain power. It will attempt to illustrate the gendered nature of populism and the inherently intertwining themes of societal gendered considerations with populism power politics and its impact on women’s political representation and ability to exist in the public sphere. Although global trends and similarities can be observed on an international scale, this report will put forward the specificities of the following geographical areas: Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and North Africa. The intricacies of each area’s own historical, political, and social context provide a more comprehensive overview and greatly shape the way populism interacts with women’s rights.
✨ AI summary
Over the last few decades, there has been an overall increase in the representation of women in political and decision-making positions, although this progress is uneven and uncertain (Fellegi, Hrbková, Dubrow, 2023). Feminists’ demands are increasingly heard and supported by institutions, both international and national. However, this progress in women’s representation and the defence of women’s rights can lead to two phenomena which are detrimental to these causes. Firstly, greater recognition of women’s rights can lead to a “backlash” phenomenon, a violent retreat from women’s rights in response to this advance. Backlash can be defined as “a response to feminist movements that are effectively making changes to create a more egalitarian and just society” (Bojanic, Abadía, Moro, 2021). Thus, when a backlash occurs in a country, it should be analysed as proof that women’s rights initially improved. The backlash phenomenon also highlights the fact that increasing the representation of women in politics does not systematically lead to an improvement in women’s rights.
Secondly, the growing importance of feminist demands in the political arena can lead to the instrumentalisation of these demands by political parties. This is particularly true of populist parties. Populism is a political program or movement that claims to represent the common person against an elite or establishment while criticising political representation and everything that mediates between the people and their government (Lacatus, Meibauer, 2022). From Trump in the US, Erdogan in Turkey, Weidel in Germany, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Salvini or Meloni in Italy, and Modi in India, populist leaders around the globe each have unique features but all seem to rely heavily on gendered stereotypes to advance a national strategy that breaks with traditional party politics.
This report questions how political parties instrumentalise women for electoral purposes or to retain power. It will attempt to illustrate the gendered nature of populism and the inherently intertwining themes of societal gendered considerations with populism power politics and its impact on women’s political representation and ability to exist in the public sphere. Although global trends and similarities can be observed on an international scale, this report will put forward the specificities of the following geographical areas: Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and North Africa. The intricacies of each area’s own historical, political, and social context provide a more comprehensive overview and greatly shape the way populism interacts with women’s rights.
Secondly, the growing importance of feminist demands in the political arena can lead to the instrumentalisation of these demands by political parties. This is particularly true of populist parties. Populism is a political program or movement that claims to represent the common person against an elite or establishment while criticising political representation and everything that mediates between the people and their government (Lacatus, Meibauer, 2022). From Trump in the US, Erdogan in Turkey, Weidel in Germany, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Salvini or Meloni in Italy, and Modi in India, populist leaders around the globe each have unique features but all seem to rely heavily on gendered stereotypes to advance a national strategy that breaks with traditional party politics.
This report questions how political parties instrumentalise women for electoral purposes or to retain power. It will attempt to illustrate the gendered nature of populism and the inherently intertwining themes of societal gendered considerations with populism power politics and its impact on women’s political representation and ability to exist in the public sphere. Although global trends and similarities can be observed on an international scale, this report will put forward the specificities of the following geographical areas: Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and North Africa. The intricacies of each area’s own historical, political, and social context provide a more comprehensive overview and greatly shape the way populism interacts with women’s rights.
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