In person icon Bridging gender, minority status and political participation– insights into alternative forms of political participation

Abstract

The discussions around Kamala Harris becoming the first female, first black and first Asian-American US vice-president highlighted once again the interconnection of gender and ethnicity with political participation. Scholarship shows that overall women participate less in politics then men do, and once gender intersects with ethnicity, the participation gap widens even more. This is even more evident when looking at conventional forms of political participation. Nevertheless, Latina women in the US are amongst the most politically active. Moreover, women belonging to vulnerable ethnic groups have found alternative patterns of political participation, such as International Conferences and Networks, participation in social movements, protests and demonstrations. Yet models to analyze the effect of gender and identity on political participation have failed to meaningfully account for the ways in which the intersections of ethnicity, and gender shape the political behavior of minority women. This panel complements the panel on conventional forms of political participation of women with a minority background by focusing on alternative forms of political participation. The panel explores the role of women in social movements, the claims raised and the impact of intersectionality of gender and minority status on social movements, and the possibilities of relying on international cultural events, such as the Eurovision song contest, to highlight intersectionality and gender discrimination in a repressive context. Furthermore the panel sheds light on Muslim women organizations and feminist theories, and on the multiple forms of discrimination of minority candidates.

Title	Details
Democratic Resilience of Muslim Women's Organizations in Germany: Meanings and Challenges of Institutionalizing Feminist Critique	View Paper Details
Gender, social movements, and norms: where are the women in movements?	View Paper Details
Reconceptualising female human mobility as a liberating social movement	View Paper Details
Who Has Room for Error? Scandal and Accountability Among Minority Candidates	View Paper Details