Routledge Library Editions: Women and Politics (9 Volume set) presents titles, originally published between 1981 and 1993. The set draws attention to the importance of women and how their presence and active involvement, in politics and related fields, during the twentieth century has been crucial throughout the world.

Routledge Library Editions: Women and Politics (9 Volume set) presents titles, originally published between 1981 and 1993. The set draws attention to the importance of women and how their presence and active involvement, in politics and related fields, during the twentieth century has been crucial throughout the world.

In their analyses of the role of women in politics, political scientists had tended to neglect the family and the labour market, thus ignoring a crucial aspect of women’s political activity. Originally published in 1981, this book shows that the family and the labour market are political institutions directly relevant to the distribution of power and to economic and social development. Because the political functions of these two institutions are ignored, political systems are misunderstood with serious consequences for the implementation of policy. The studies in the book, which relate to widely different political systems and which cross disciplinary boundaries, all concentrate on the crucial activities of women. They serve to increase our understanding of the political implications of the family, of the sexual divisions of both domestic and wage labour and of the role of education in these inequalities at the time. They show the fundamental comparability of the problems posed by patriarchy as well as the diversity of their manifestations in different political and economic systems. Further, the studies show an unexpected dependence of male-dominated institutions, such as the military and high technology, on women’s traditional gender roles. Ways of empowering the powerless through law, political activity and employment are also discussed. By extending the scope of discussion, this book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of politics and of the centrality of women to political structures.

In the late 1980s, despite the fact that the vast majority of women now had a dual role – in paid work and in the domestic realm – the world of work, the welfare state, and the domestic sphere were all still organized as though women’s place were primarily in the home. Though this contradiction most directly affected women, it had implications for the lives of both sexes, and in a much wider social context. Women’s changing role had paralleled a major restructuring of the economy but the importance of these changes was barely reflected in contemporary political discussions, or in political science or social policy literature. In this title, originally published in 1987, articles from women in Italy, France, Denmark, Norway, the US and Britain bring the issues sharply into focus. Applying fresh perspectives, they widen and enrich the debate. This book marks a powerful contribution to a new and more realistic assessment of women’s dual role in the state and the economy which should be read by all those concerned with the development of women’s issues and with women’s studies.

This set reissues five books on the subject of women and crime. The titles, which were originally published between 1930 and 1996, include a book of case-studies of female criminals, a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the social conflict and change of women in crime, and essays which examine the construction of women in criminology. This set will be of particular interest to students of both criminology and women’s studies.

Prior to publication there had been little study of the political role of women. Gender had been seen only as a background variable in social surveys of political behaviour, and women had rarely been extensively or separately considered. Now, in essays specially written for this volume, first published in 1981, the authors map out the political behaviour of women in twenty ‘industrially developed’ countries, bringing together and analysing contemporary material on a variety of topics, such as voting, standing for public office, entering the political elite, and engaging in political activity outside the formal structures of government. In each chapter the history of women’s political activity is outlined, from the first movements for female suffrage and emancipation to the new political involvement occasioned by the women’s movements of the 1970s. The impact of differing political systems on the experience of women is considered, and some striking similarities and differences are pointed out. It has been generally agreed that women’s participation in politics has been less than that of men, although reasons postulated for this have varied widely. The essays in this book offer further suggestions in this area, while charting a steady increase in activity by women in all political spheres as feminism politicises issues previously restricted to private or male-dominated spheres and women become increasingly concerned to participate in the political process. The authors indicate current trends and explode prevailing myths and the ‘second electorate’, and they suggest future possibilities, both for Political Woman and the Political Science which must take account of feminist political activity. Students of social and political science, readers seeking comprehensive, cross-national coverage of party and election data, and all interested women will find the book to be a mine of information and a rare and readable picture of half the world’s electorate.

Before 1840 there was little prestige attached to the writing of novels, and most English novelists were women. By the turn of the 20th century, 'men of letters' acclaimed novels as a form of great literature, and most successful novelists were men. Here, Gaye Tuchman examines how men redefined this form of literary expression.