The Third Wave:

Globalization and
Non-State
Feminism
Dr. Laura Brunell
Department of Political Science
Gonzaga University
 The Third Wave
Terminology comes from waves of
democratization in world history

And from waves of womens social

movement activism

My thesis: the confluence of third wave

feminism and the third wave of
democratization creates specific kinds of
leadership opportunities for women
First Wave Democratization
and First Wave Feminism
1600s-1900
European
Enlightenment
Liberalism
Constitutional
Monarchies and
Republics
Voting Rights for All?
Women Excluded
until 20th Century
 Second Wave
Democratization
Post-WWII
Decolonization in Latin
America, Asia, Africa
Expanded notions of
citizenship and civic
participation in the
developed world
Europe Social Rights,
Social Democracy
US - Civil Rights
Movement
 Second Wave
Democratization and
Feminism in Western
Aftermath of Europe
WWII
Consensus on Social Democracy
Social Rights including right to work,
housing, healthcare
Implications for women:
Paid leave for maternity, childcare,
child allowances, right to return to
job, reduced schedules, state funded
nurseries, pre-schools
 Second Wave Feminism in
Europe
In addition to social rights:
Greater access to
political office
Advantages of the
Parliamentary system
Party-based quotas
Stronger role for party in
recruitment
Women work their way
up the party ranks
Ministries or Offices for
Women
State Feminism in
Europe
Second Wave Feminism in
the US
1963 Betty
Friedans The
Feminist Mystique
Sexual Politics
The Personal is
Political
Building Womens
Organizations
 Second Wave Feminism in
the US
Consciousness raising
Legal strategies
Service provision through feminist
organizations
Getting more women elected
http://www.emilyslist.org/
 Women in Politics Today
Women are heads of
state today: Finland,
Ireland, Latvia, Liberia,
Philippines, San Marino

Women heads of
government:
Bangladesh, New
Zealand, Mozambique,
Germany, Jamaica, Sao
Tome and Principe
 Women in Parliaments
Today

Do women make a difference?

Weldon findings
Independent womens movement AND state structure for
women
 Do women make a
difference?
Laurel Weldon (2002) Protest, Policy and the
Problem of Violence Against Women. Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press.
Strong, autonomous womens
movement
AND
State institutions designed to
promote the status of women
 Do Women Have Different
Leadership Style?
Skeptical
Anecdotal evidence, e.g. Fortune
magazine
Beer and Brunell on Gender
Differences in Language in
Congressional Vote for 1991 Gulf War
 Do Women Have Different
Leadership Style?
Lyn Kathlenes study of CO legislators
Womens bills were more comprehensive
and innovative
Thus, they generated more opposition

In committee, women acted more as

facilitators, men as controllers
Men speak up sooner
 Third Wave
Democratization
Latin America
Eastern Europe
Within existing advanced industrialized
democracies, the rise of identity
politics
Post-industrial values
Quality of life
Personal autonomy
Identification with sub-culture/communities
of difference
 Third Wave Feminism
In US, emphasis on multi-culturalism
Different experiences of Black,
Chicano, Asian women
Intersections of race, class, gender

GLBT issues

Re-claiming, re-casting femininity,

the expression of female sexuality
 Third Wave Feminism
Shift to Global Issues
Impact of globalization on women, especially
women in developing countries in sweatshops,
sex tourism industry
Rise of human trafficking, sex trafficking
Other issues facing women in developing world,
e.g., women living under Taliban, facing death
by stoning under Shariah law in Nigeria, facing
genital cutting in other parts of Africa
Global movement against violence against
women
 Third Wave Feminism
New Opportunities for
Womens Leadership

Turn away from the state as nation-

state loses power
Shift to international organizations
and agreements such as the UN and
CEDAW
Shift in level of organizing to the
trans-national feminist organization
 Trans-National Feminism:
Opportunities for Women
Leaders
The Feminist Majority
Devoted to watch-dogging US gender policy
but also has on-going campaign to publicize
status of women in Afghanistan
And a campaign against sweatshops
http://www.feminist.org/other/sweatshop
s/
http://feministmajority.org/about.asp
 Trans-National Feminism:
Opportunities for Women
Leaders
Human Rights
Watch
Section on
Women
http://www.hrw.o
rg/women/
 Resources
Statistics on Women in Politics:

http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/statistic
s.htm
http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm

Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

http://www.idea.int/gender/index.cfm

Quotas for Women in Politics:

http://www.quotaproject.org/system.cfm
 Resources
List of Women Heads of State:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_heads
_of_state

List of Women Heads of Government:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Current_fem
ale_heads_of_government

Fortune article on Women in Power:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_ar
chive/2003/10/13/350932/index.htm
 Other Sources
Kathlene, Lyn. 1992. Studying the
New Voice of Women in Politics.
Chronicle of Higher Education,
November 18, 1992, B2.
Beer, Francis and Laura Brunell.
2001. Womens Words: Gender and
Rhetoric in the Gulf War Debate.
Meanings of War and Peace. College
Station, TX: Texas A&M University
Press.