Dissertation

Gender relations and social democratic party transformation: The case of women in the British Labour Party

Halcli, Abigail Lee

1996

Overview

The resurgence of women's activism in the British Labour Party since the late 1970's has increased pressure on the party leadership to address issues of female representation and to place greater emphasis on a variety of \"women's issues.\" The increased focus on gender issues has been facilitated by changing environmental conditions that created pressures for the Labour leadership to reevaluate party organization and programmatic appeals. In this research I examine the relationship between women's mobilization in parties and social democratic party transformation through interviews with Labour Party elites and activists and officials from key women's movement organizations, and supplemented with documentary materials and other published accounts of the activities of the Labour Party and women's movement organizations. The objectives of this research are twofold. First, this research contributes to the study of gender and politics. Through an analysis of women politicians and activists in the Labour Party, I show how women's participation in political parties is linked to the opportunity structures afforded by parties. Specifically, I show how organizational and strategic changes in the Labour Party created spaces for women to mobilize and demand reforms. In addition, I discuss how political parties and other political institutions, including the British Parliament, operate as gendered organizations, and how this shapes the opportunities and experiences of women in the Labour Party. Second, I add to the research on political parties by analyzing social democratic party transformation through the case of the British Labour Party. I consider explanations that highlight the influences of environmental changes on social democratic party transformation, including the proportionate decline in the size of the working class and the rise of postmaterialist values and new political challengers in the form of social movements and political parties. While recognizing the significance of changing environmental conditions in setting the context for party transformation, I emphasize the necessity of analyzing the internal life of political parties, including organizational structure, intraparty coalitions, and links with other organizations, to understand how parties respond to environmental changes.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Political science / Sociology / Womens studies
• ISBN: 0591179423, 9780591179422