Feminism and policy-making

Abstract

The present wave of feminism has undoubtedly had an impact on policy; it has brought to the fore and redefined issues previously neglected, helped to secure major changes in official policy and ensured that these are at least partially implemented. In this chapter I want to focus on feminism’s involvement in the detailed process of policy-making. What have been the most effective feminist tactics? How much can feminists achieve through this kind of political participation? To what extent does the adverse economic and political climate of the 1980s put in jeopardy successes of the 1970s and require different kinds of feminist action?