Three Essays on the Possibilities for Realizing Women's "Collective Interests"

[摘要] Despite growing attention to the need to increase women’s equity in political decision-making worldwide, widespread gains have not always followed from policies or efforts designed to increase women’s political representation and participation as expected. One reason this expectation exists is because of essentialist notions of women as generally inclined to work together to represent their 'collective interests.” This dissertation consists of three essays that evaluate the extent to which those collective interests exist. In the first two essays I examine whether ethnic and socio-economic class differences present obstacles to cooperation among women using a public goods experiment in Lebanon. In the third essay, I look at how differences among women in terms of their political connectedness affect their likelihood of prioritizing women’s interests in the context of reserved quota seats for women in political office. Overall, these essays highlight the importance of understanding how differences amongst women, particularly differences between elite and non-elite women, affect the advancement of women’s collective interests. I also contribute by demonstrating the importance of taking intersectionality seriously in order to develop policies that more effectively address the problem of gender inequality worldwide.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh