Women entered politics not long ago because the patriarchal conditions of the world continue to affect every nation. Female Political Representation and Substantive Effects on Policies: A Literature Review by Hessami and da Fonseca identifies how politics changes when women enter its history. The authors view women’s politics as an innovation that will bring many changes in the future. Their study is an important starting point for understanding and predicting strategic changes in women’s politics because any processes of transformation of the political structure of society are impossible if the transformation mechanisms do not affect all social groups and categories of the population. Moreover, in the political context, gender becomes an influential element that creates social relations and forms a system of power. The inclusion of women into political realm is likely to change the political agenda to give more prominence to issues like domestic violence, abuse, and maternity care.
First and foremost, the work brings an understanding of women’s politics and how they are portrayed at the state level. Hessami and da Fonseca point out that women politicians are increasing “various women-friendly policies regarding maternity and childcare leave” (8). This means that the visibility of women’s issues in society is increased, and the number of positive practices for women is raised. This is quite important because it suggests how society will respond to women’s political activities. The work leads to understanding how women politicians will work in the future.
Secondly, the review allows readers to establish why women have been able to improve the quality of institutions. Hessami and da Fonseca determined that “women are less likely to accept bribes as well as to condone corruption” (12). This means that corruption as part of the institution of power begins to decline, and political decisions are less dependent on rich people and lobbying. This should be considered an essential consequence of the study because it shapes society’s view of politics: it will become less corrupt, and state power will be more trustworthy.
Considering the above said, the issue of why women go into politics may be answered in terms of new perspectives women bring into the political field. Thus, they may be willing to take up those issues that, in their opinion, do not get enough coverage at diverse political levels. The second reason deals with the new initiatives women bring into established system of work. Such initiatives as the fight against corruption or increased maternity care are likely to find response in society further boosting careers of women engaged in the political realm.
While the issues tackled by women politicians and the decisions they make are likely to be positively regarded by society, especially by those groups which can identify with them, it is essential to understand how the political realm will be changed by including women into its very heart. The work outlines positive outcomes of such inclusion and contributes to understanding why the prognosis for women politicians’ decisions will be favorable in the future. Thus, Hessami and da Fronesca state that the structure of public spending is likely to be changed to reflect the needs of vulnerable groups as well as “higher investments in public goods, particularly in the areas of health and education” (16). Moreover, women may promote raising barriers for entering politics by disadvantage groups and minority representatives.
Works Cited
Hessami, Zohal, and Lopes da Fronesca, Mariana. Female Political Representation and Substantive Effects on Policies: A Literature Review. Bonn: Institute of Labor Economics, 2020. IZA Discussion Papers. Web.