This text is concerned with the relationship between women and politics from a variety of perspectives covering a wide range of geographical as well as political contexts. Essays span the theory/practice divide and everything between.

This more inclusive focus reflects a shift in the Zeitgeist which is pushing outwards instead of inwards, at least as far as many women scholars are concerned, but also reflects a desire to map the differences that women can make and are making in the lives of the world's citizens, and to explore if sisters are doing it for others as well as themselves.

SECTION 1: QUESTIONS OF REPRESENTATION: THE THEORY/PRACTICE GAP
The representation of women: meaning and make-believe
Does size matter? Critical mass and New Zealand's women MPs
Women's political participation in China: struggling to hold up half the sky
Maintaining a balance: the retention of women MSPs
Mainstreaming in Westminster and Whitehall: from Labour's Ministry for Women to the Women's Unit
SECTION 2: GENDER AND EFFECT: THE IMPACT OF WOMEN IN POLITICS
Women and constitutional change in Scotland and Northern Ireland
The 'femocrat' strategy: expanding the repertoire of feminist activists
Developing democracy in Kosova: from grassroots to government
Women and politics in Africa: the case of Uganda
Competing interests: democracy, Islamification and women politicians in Iran
'All the time his wife': portrayals of First Ladies in the Israeli press
SECTION 3: STRAIGHT-TALKING: WOMEN POLITICIANS TALK OUT EXPERIENCE
Hitting the target: are Labour women MPs 'acting for' women?
One step forward, two steps back? Women in the two main political parties in Wales
Invisible women: the politcal roles of Unionist and Loyalist women in contemporary Northern Ireland
Women in the European Parliament
Women's place in 'male' space: gender and effect in parliamentary contexts