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Cuba: Women’s Complicated Political Participation and Representation

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The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics ((GAP))

Abstract

Wylie and Shoker offer an analysis of women’s political participation in Cuba. Their chapter reviews the history of women within the Cuban revolution and government, highlighting the successes and the failures of the government to advance equality. While Cuban women have almost equal representation in parliament, the authors show that these figures are misleading because of the complexities of the political system. Despite the appearance of political and legal equality, Cuban women remain disadvantaged and underrepresented at the highest levels of power. The chapter also examines the role of women in nation building, focusing on the symbiosis between the Federacion de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC) and the goals of the state, revealing that women’s rights still occupy a tense and sometimes contradictory position in Cuban politics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Lana Wylie & Sarah Shoker

Authors
  1. Lana Wylie
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  2. Sarah Shoker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lana Wylie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Susan Franceschet

  2. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Mona Lena Krook

  3. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Netina Tan

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© 2019 The Author(s)

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Cite this chapter

Wylie, L., Shoker, S. (2019). Cuba: Women’s Complicated Political Participation and Representation. In: Franceschet, S., Krook, M.L., Tan, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_28

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