Women’s participation and challenges to the liberal script: A global perspective
Abstract
Abstract
Existing scholarship documents large worldwide increases in women’s participation in the public sphere over recent decades, for example, in education, politics, and the labor force. Some scholars have argued that these changes follow broader trends in world society, especially its growing liberalism, which increasingly has reconfigured social life around the choices of empowered and rights-bearing individuals, regardless of gender. Very recently, however, a variety of populisms and nationalisms have emerged to present alternatives to liberalism, including in the international arena. We explore here their implications for women’s participation in public life. We use cross-national data to analyze changes in women’s participation in higher education, the polity, and the economy 1970–2017. We find that women’s participation on average continues to expand over this period, but there is evidence of a growing cross-national divergence. In most domains, women’s participation tends to be lower in countries linked to illiberal international organizations, especially in the recent-most period.
Résumé
La littérature documente une augmentation globale de la participation des femmes dans la sphère publique au cours des dernières décennies, par exemple, dans l’éducation, la politique, et la main d’oeuvre. Quelques études ont suggeré que ces changements suivent des tendances plus grandes dans la société mondiale, en particulier son libéralisme croissant, qui a de plus en plus reconfiguré la vie sociale autour des choix de personnes dotées de droits, sans distinction de sexe. Mais très récemment, une variété de populismes et nationalismes ont émergé qui présentent des alternatives au libéralisme, aussi bien dans l’arène internationale. Notre étude considère leurs implications pour la participation des femmes dans la sphère publique. Nous utilisons les données internationales pour analyser les changements dans la participation des femmes dans l’enseignement supérieur, la vie politique et l’économie de 1970 à 2017. Les résultats montrent que la participation des femmes en moyenne continue d’augmenter au cours de cette période, mais il existe des preuves d’une divergence transnationale croissante. Dans la plupart des domaines, la participation des femmes a tendance à être plus faible dans les pays liés à des organisations internationales non libérales, surtout dans une période plus récente.
Resumen
Los estudios existentes documentan grandes aumentos en todo el mundo en la participación de las mujeres en la esfera pública durante las últimas décadas, por ejemplo, en la educación, la política y la fuerza laboral. Algunos académicos han argumentado que estos cambios siguen tendencias más amplias en la sociedad mundial, especialmente su creciente liberalismo, que ha reconfigurado cada vez más la vida social en torno a las opciones de los individuos empoderados y portadores de derechos, independientemente del género. Sin embargo, muy recientemente, han surgido una variedad de populismos y nacionalismos para presentar alternativas al liberalismo, incluso en la arena internacional. Exploramos aquí sus implicaciones para la participación de la mujer en la vida pública. Utilizamos datos transnacionales para analizar los cambios en la participación de las mujeres en la educación superior, la política y la economía de 1970 a 2017. Encontramos que la participación de las mujeres en promedio continúa expandiéndose durante este período, pero hay evidencia de una creciente divergencia entre países. En la mayoría de los ámbitos, la participación de las mujeres tiende a ser menor en los países vinculados a organizaciones internacionales antiliberales, especialmente en el período más reciente.
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Biographies
Julia C. Lerch is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. She studies the role of global culture and institutions in shaping various domains ranging from education to the humanitarian sector. Her publications have appeared in Sociology of Education, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Comparative Education Review, Gender and Society, Social Forces, International Sociology, Globalisation, Societies, and Education, European Journal of Education, as well as in several edited volumes.
Evan Schofer is professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. His research examines the growth of education, science, environmentalism, and NGOs across the world. His current work addresses emergent opposition to these trends. Much of his scholarship seeks to develop and extend world society theory, to better understand global patterns of social change.
David John Frank is professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine. His research analyzes changes in the cultural and organizational underpinnings of world society, especially regarding the natural environment, sex, and the knowledge society. He is the co-author (with John W. Meyer) of The University and the Global Knowledge Society (Princeton 2020).
Wesley Longhofer is an associate professor of organization and management in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. His research interest include organizational sociology, human rights, and the environment. He is the co-author (with Don Grant and Andrew Jorgenson) of Super Polluters: Tackling the World’s Largest Sites of Climate-Disrupting Emissions (Columbia 2020).
Francisco O. Ramirez is Professor of Education and Sociology (by courtesy) at Stanford University. His scholarship has contributed to the development of world society theory in the areas of education, gender, and human rights. He has an ongoing research interest in the global rise and institutionalization of women’s rights and contemporary contestations. His work also focuses on the changing institutional and organizational character of universities influenced both by global templates of excellence and their historical legacies. Ramirez is the co-editor of Universities as Agencies: Reputation and Professionalization: (with T. Christensen and A. Gornitzka, eds.) Palgrave McMillan. 2019.
Christine Min Wotipka is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology at Stanford University. She directs the master’s program in International Comparative Education and International Education Policy Analysis in the Stanford Graduate School of Education and served as faculty director of the Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from 2012–2016. Her research broadly relates to gender justice in education access, experiences, and outcomes from cross-national and longitudinal perspectives.
Kristopher Velasco is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. His research focuses on global/transnational sociology, organizations, culture, and gender/sexuality. Kristopher’s research appears in American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, International Studies Quarterly, among other outlets.
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