Abstract

SANTOS, Maria Helena  and  AMANCIO, Lígia. Gender and politics: analysis on the resistance in discourse and social practices to the Parity Law. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas [online]. 2012, n.68, pp.79-101. ISSN 0873-6529.  https://doi.org/10.7458/SPP201268694.

The recognition of gender inequality in politics has led to the adoption of measures of affirmative action worldwide; the Parity Law approved in Portugal in 2006 is an example of this. Like other countries where such measures were adopted, this has been the source of social controversy in Portugal and is a particularly rich field of analysis for the practices underlying gender ideology. Focusing on the electoral cycle of 2009, this study strives to determine whether the main political parties in Portugal complied with the Parity Law and also to understand the discourses that emerged in the press on this matter. The results reveal both compliance with the law and also its positive effects in the representation of women in these political parties in the European and, to a lesser extent, legislative elections; on the other hand, the law was not observed in local elections and it was found that resistance to it continues to be underpinned by an ideology that defines politics as a male territory.

Keywords : gender inequality; politics; Parity Law; resistence.

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