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Gender, Institutions, and Change in Bachelet’s Chile pp 147–169Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Institutional Constraints to Engendering the Health Sector in Bachelet’s Chile

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Part of the book series: Studies of the Americas ((STAM))

Abstract

In recent years, scholarship examining the gendered nature of institutions has increased and offered much to our understanding of both the formal and informal practices that shape institutional practices, rules, norms, and processes of change. While the nature of formal and informal institutions themselves continues to be widely debated, there is a consensus, among feminist scholars at least, that they are inherently gendered (Chappell and Waylen 2013; Kenny 2007; Mackay, Kenny, and Chappell 2010; Waylen 2014, Waylen chapter 1 this volume). One question raised within this literature is how, despite the widespread promotion of “pro-gender” policy initiatives such as gender mainstreaming, the long-term gains have been limited. Michelle Bachelet, first as minister of health (2000–2002) and subsequently in her first presidential administration (2006–2010), sought to address the deeply embedded gender inequalities within the Chilean health sector through a number of policy initiatives. However, as this chapter demonstrates, a range of gendered institutional barriers has either constrained their effectiveness or limited the possibility of a long-term reform and many of the projects were either halted or dissipated during the subsequent right-wing government of Piñera (2010–2014). The second administration of Bachelet (2014 onward) offers a new opportunity to examine the potential for challenging some of the institutional constraints that limit gender equality in the health sector.

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Authors
  1. Jasmine Gideon
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  2. Gabriela Alvarez Minte
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Manchester, UK

    Georgina Waylen (professor of Politics) (professor of Politics)

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© 2016 Jasmine Gideon and Gabriela Alvarez Minte

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Gideon, J., Minte, G.A. (2016). Institutional Constraints to Engendering the Health Sector in Bachelet’s Chile. In: Waylen, G. (eds) Gender, Institutions, and Change in Bachelet’s Chile. Studies of the Americas. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137501981_7

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