Women and Politics in Chile

Franceschet highlights the gendered nature of political participation in Chile, as well as changing perceptions of what is and is not political. Even as women enter electoral and bureaucratic politics in greater numbers, she argues, they are divided by ideology, competing interests, and unequal access to power. Clarifying the themes and challenges of the Chilean women's movement today, she finds an inextricable link between women's struggles for citizenship rights and the nation's broader struggles for democracy and social justice.