Abstract
The ‘breakthrough’ by Labour women in the 1997 general election brought Britain to around 20th place in the world league tables of women’s representation. It is a recent and late manifestation of changing patterns of women’s political behaviour that began in Northern Europe in the 1970s and are apparent in most democratic countries. Differences between women’s and men’s political behaviour have been eroded and levels of women’s representation have risen. While it would be difficult to argue effectively that all these changes are directly caused by the rebirth of feminism and the growth of women’s movements, it would make little sense to explain the changes without reference to contemporary feminism.
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© 1999 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Lovenduski, J. (1999). Sexing Political Behaviour in Britain. In: Walby, S. (eds) New Agendas for Women. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333982969_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780333982969_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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