Gender and the practice of politics: comparing local and regional government in Wales

Professor Nickie Charles, University of Warwick

The presentation will explore the experiences of women working at local and all-Wales levels of government and discuss how these political arenas differ in terms of political culture, working environment and the priority given to so-called 'women's issues'. It will be argued that the two levels of government differ substantially and that this influences how effective women are able to be as political actors. The paper will draw on research Professor Charles carried out for an ESRC-funded project, ‘Gender and political processes in the context of devolution', which included interviews with 31 Assembly Members and 30 local councillors in 3 different parts of Wales.

Biography:
Nickie Charles is Professor and Director of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender in the Sociology Department at the University of Warwick. She has published widely on many aspects of gender including feminist social movements, the gendered division of paid and unpaid work and the refuge movement. She has recently completed a research project on gender and political processes in the context of devolution in collaboration with colleagues at Swansea University. Some recent publications include: Gender and Social Justice in Wales (edited with Charlotte Davies), University of Wales Press, 2010, Families in Transition (with Charlotte Davies and Chris Harris), The Policy Press, 2008, Gender in Modern Britain, Oxford University Press, 2002, and Feminism, the state and social policy (Macmillan, 2000).

Organiser: Bloomsbury Gender Network hosted by the SOAS Centre for Gender Studies

Contact email: rs94@soas.ac.uk