Senior Fellow Saskia Brechenmacher's Foreign Policy Article: "Representation Isn't Enough"

Senior Fellow Saskia Brechenmacher’s co-authored article “Representation Isn’t Enough” was recently published on the Foreign Policy website. The article highlights that the increased representation of women in politics is not indicative of their increased political power.

The authors argue that traditionally patriarchal political spaces perpetuate gendered discrimination even when there are more women in office. Moreover, the women who are promoted are usually those who conform to the political structure and do not try to challenge it.

As written in the Foreign Policy article, “Rwanda exemplifies this trend: Although the country leads the world in women’s parliamentary representation, women politicians and activists who criticize the ruling government face harassment and repression.”

Saskia and the other authors also suggest an alternative approach to gender equality in politics – that of prioritizing women’s decision-making power, participation in civil society and considering intersectionality.

You can read the full article here.