How Are Political Institutions Gendered?
Open accessAbstract
Understanding the role of institutions can help explain why gender equality policies often fail and why the efforts of gender equality advocates are frequently frustrated. Focusing on micro-foundations and using cases from comparative politics, the article builds a model that specifies the mechanisms whereby political institutions are systematically gendered. Political opportunities and outcomes are shaped not only by rules ‘about gender’ but also by seemingly neutral rules that have ‘gendered effects’, due to their interaction with institutions outside the realm of formal politics. Rules shape behaviour in gendered ways through mechanisms of regulation, obligation and persuasion. Actors reproduce gendered institutions through enacting rules, but they also generate change through adapting, resisting or reforming them. The article specifies concepts and methods for researching how political institutions are gendered within and across political systems. It also identifies points of intervention for those seeking to build more gender-just political institutions.
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Even rules that seem neutral can reflect, structure, and reinforce an asymmetrical allocation of opportunities, resources, and recognition between privileged and underprivileged groups.
“Even rules that may on the face of them seem neutral can reflect, structure, and reinforce an asymmetrical allocation of opportunities, resources, and recognition between privileged and underprivileged groups (Kenney, 1996;Lowndes, 2020).”
From Intersectional power struggles in feminist movements: An analysis of resistance and counter‐resistance to intersectionality (2024) · cites this paper as Lowndes, 2020
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“…these longer-serving councilors perceived that they had since benefitted from some rene-gotiation of the “rules of the game” (Lowndes 2005, 2014, 2020) throughout the 2000s as more women entered the political arena and shifted the minority-majority split from “token” to “skewed” or even…”
da Silva, M. G., Chaves, V. S., & Barbosa, L. G. (2023) · Sociedade e Estado · doi:10.1590/s0102-6992-202338010004 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Hibbs, L. (2022) · Journal for Cultural Research · doi:10.1080/14797585.2021.2011365 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“…of our political institutions, feminist institutionalist scholars have presented much evidence to support the assertion that political workplaces remain organised in such a way that can form structural barriers to women’s political participation (Erikson & Josefsson, 2020; Lowndes, 2014, 2020).”
InfluentialGender and Strategic Opposition Behavior: Patterns of Parliamentary Oversight in Belgium
de Vet, B., & Devroe, R. (2022) · Politics and Governance · doi:10.17645/pag.v11i1.6135 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
A Chequered History but Positive Future for British Public Administration
Elliott, I., Richardson, L., Durose, C., Ayres, S., Boswell, J., Cairney, P., Flinders, M. V., & Martin, S. (2026) · Public Administration Review · doi:10.1111/puar.70094 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“For example, this era saw theoretical developments to add a gendered lens to the intellectual repertoire of the discipline, such as the growth of feminist institutionalist analysis (Mackay and Krook 2010; Mackay et al. 2011; Kenny 2014; Waylen 2017; Lowndes 2019; Durose and Lowndes 2023).”
Raychaudhury, P. (2023) · Commonwealth and Comparative Politics · doi:10.1080/14662043.2023.2169364 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“As Vivien Lowndes points out in her work on the gendering of political institutions (Lowndes, 2019), such privileging is accompanied by the strategy of excluding actors who do not seem to conform to such subjectivities.”
BackgroundThe Power of Ideas and Discourse in Political Analysis
Schmidt, V. A. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197902455.001.0001 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Conceptualising Anti‐Racist Institutionalism
Eseonu, T. (2025) · Social Policy and Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.13116 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Lack Support Systems and Women’s Political Participation in South Africa
Sokani, A. (2025) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci14120693 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Kupangwa, W., Venter, E., & Farrington, S. M. (2024) · Journal of Management & Organization · doi:10.1017/jmo.2024.51 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Gender, Intraparty Competition, and the Substantive Focus of Parliamentary Questions in South Africa
Espírito-Santo, A., Sanches, E. R., & Kartalis, Y. (2024) · Politics and Governance · doi:10.17645/pag.8326 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“And even seemingly neutral rules can have “gendered effects” (Lowndes, 2020).”
BackgroundThe evolution of gender-inclusive language. Evidence from the German Bundestag, 1949-2021
Stecker, C., Müller, J., Blätte, A., & Leonhardt, C. (2021) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/fcsmz · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Staying Power: Unpacking Seniority as a Gendered Informal Institution in Parliament
Muriaas, R. L., & Tøraasen, M. (2025) · Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society · doi:10.1093/sp/jxaf057 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Women’s Good Political Representation
Celis, K., & Childs, S. (2023) · Genero časopis za feminističku teoriju i studije kulture · doi:10.18485/genero.2023.27.1.1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Tadadjeu, S., Ndjakwa, M., & Kamguia, B. (2025) · The Journal of Development Studies · doi:10.1080/00220388.2025.2467656 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Theoretically, it is admitted that better political representation of women allows them to reorient the political agenda so that ‘ women ’ s interests ’ such as women ’ s employment are more prominent (Lowndes, 2020).”
Between Rights and Rightfulness
George, N. (2025) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197807354.001.0001 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Igiebor, O. (2023) · Journal of Gender Culture and Society · doi:10.32996/jgcs.2023.3.1.3 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Gender mainstreaming in times of crisis: Missed opportunities in pandemic policymaking
Callerstig, A.-C., & Strid, S. (2023) · Papers. Revista de Sociologia · doi:10.5565/rev/papers.3174 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Does gender matter for climate change governance? A review of empirical research
Hathaway, E. (2025) · French Politics · doi:10.1057/s41253-025-00287-2 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“This absence might be due to the institutional constraints that bind candidates to political behaviors that align with traditional, systemically entrenched norms that favor masculine-typed political preferences (Achin 2005; Franceschet and Piscopo 2014; Lowndes 2020).”
Polischuk, L., & Fay, D. L. (2025) · International Journal of Public Administration · doi:10.1080/01900692.2025.2565304 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Göker, Z. G., & Çelik, A. B. (2025) · Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society · doi:10.1093/sp/jxaf055 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Leading the Charge: The Role of Women in Municipal Budgeting
Afshan, S. (2025) · Public Administration · doi:10.1111/padm.70039 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Mars, K. J. H., & Schiller, M. (2026) · International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics · doi:10.1080/19406940.2025.2607375 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Gendering Parliamentary Diplomacy: The case of EU27-UK Relations
Miller, C. M. (2023) · Social Politics International Studies in Gender State & Society · doi:10.1093/sp/jxad032 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Persistence of Gender Inequality in e-Science: The Case of eSec
Karakaş, Ö. (2024) · Minerva · doi:10.1007/s11024-024-09530-6 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…this stems from eSec’s organizational embed-dedness in larger disciplinary, structural, and institutional “gender effects” (Gains and Lowndes 2014; Lowndes 2019), amplifying the structural obstacle to gender equality which results from the new managerial logic prevailing in the projectified…”
From International Regulation to Local Implementation
Oktaviandra, S., & Arza, P. A. (2024) · Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights · doi:10.19184/jseahr.v8i1.44031 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Dodeigne, J., Erzeel, S., & Randour, F. (2024) · European Union Politics · doi:10.1177/14651165241299115 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…do not only shape who is elected but also set behavioural norms and expectations for men and women in the institution (Krook and Mackay, 2011; Lowndes, 2020), in fl uencing patterns of parliamentary behaviour through a ‘ gendered logic of appropriateness ’ (Krook and Mackay, 2011; Lowndes, 2020).”
Feminist Institutionalism and Ethnography: Crafting Research from a Diverse Methodological Menu
Grahn, M., & Miller, C. (2025) · Politics & Gender · doi:10.1017/s1743923x24000527 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…of their definition of institutions, FI scholars generally agree that uncovering the institutional sources of gender inequalities necessitates complex empirical approaches that capture multiple footprints of institutional power (Bjarnegård and Kenny 2016; Kenny 2014; Lowndes 2020; Waylen 2017).”
InfluentialReglas informales y jerarquías de género en el Congreso argentino
Gené, M., & Apicella, C. G. (2025) · Revista Mexicana de Sociología · doi:10.22201/iis.01882503p.2025.1.62705 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Gendering the Interinstitutional Landscape
Abels, P. D. G., & Kantola, J. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198953692.003.0008 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The House Service: ‘Servants’ and ‘Stewards’
Miller, C. M. (2021) · Gender and politics · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-64239-6_6 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Gender Dynamics in Coalition Governments’ Ministerial Appointments in Lesotho
Rakolobe, M. (2021) · African Sun Media eBooks · doi:10.52779/9781991201690/15 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Arriola, L. R., Johnson, M. C., & Phillips, M. L. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192898074.003.0009 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Femisocial capital : Homophily and bill sponsorship by South Korean female legislators
Bang, J. (2022) · International Political Science Review · doi:10.1177/01925121221076405 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Blackmon, P. (2024) · Global Society · doi:10.1080/13600826.2024.2428180 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Thus, this paper builds on this literature of gendered organisational change including the crucial role of gender actors in implementing formal and informal rules (Lowndes 2020; Waylen 2022).”
Preventing and Handling Violence in Danish Political Parties
Kosiara‐Pedersen, K. (2025) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197793985.003.0007 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Young Women Aspirants and Gendered Ageism in Nigeria’s Political Parties
Abati, O. O., & Adeniji, M. M. (2025) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197793985.003.0008 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Not Just a Joke : Women’s Experiences of Workplace Humor in the Australian Construction Industry
Lingard, H. C., Zhang, R. P., & Chan, K. (2025) · Journal of Management in Engineering · doi:10.1061/jmenea.meeng-7109 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
New Ways of Researching Women’s Representations in Parliamentary Assemblies
Polak, A. (2025) · Studia Polityczne · doi:10.35757/stp.2025.53.3.08 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen–A Critical Actorness Approach
Abels, G., Kantola, J., Lombardo, E., & Müller, H. (2025) · doi:10.1093/9780198953692.003.0001 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yıldırım, S., & Ucaray-Mangitli, B. (2023) · Mülkiye Dergisi · doi:10.25064/mulkiye.1182485 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
McFadyen, A., Galea, N. R., & Burns, K. (2026) · Labour & Industry a journal of the social and economic relations of work · doi:10.1080/10301763.2026.2654995 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Formal rules are written down, codified and made public, such as legislation and professional standards (Lowndes 2020; Peters 2012; Scott 2008).”
InfluentialMarshall, S., Galea, N. R., Pankowiak, A., Woessner, M. N., & Forsdike, K. (2026) · Gender Work and Organization · doi:10.1111/gwao.70214 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ndlovu, H. B., & Ngcetane-Vika, T. (2026) · Journal of Gender Studies · doi:10.1080/09589236.2026.2699186 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Representations of women and gender in DFID's development-security-counterterrorism nexus
Patel, S. (2022) · European Journal of International Security · doi:10.1017/eis.2022.16 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Weight Stigmatization in Political Contexts: an Interaction with Gender
Kwan, M. Y., Macaulay, C., Gartrell, H. N., & Doggett, H. M. (2022) · Trends in Psychology · doi:10.1007/s43076-022-00238-8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Others have also highlighted the importance of incumbency, party (Dolan, 2014), and traditional networks in maintaining the existing male dominated political structure and institutions (Lowndes, 2020).”
Erikson, J., & Freidenvall, L. (2024) · Gender and politics · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52359-5_11 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Legislative success and collaboration in the Texas State House
Matthews, A. A., Osborn, T., Schilling, E. U., & Kreitzer, R. (2024) · Politics Groups and Identities · doi:10.1080/21565503.2024.2328555 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…on women and racial and ethnic minorities in legislatures identifies the masculine, white-dominated legislative institution as potentially perilous to the success of women and minority legislators in several ways (e.g., Hawkesworth 2003; Lowndes 2020; Mansbridge and Shames 2008; Preuhs 2006).”
Experiencing the executive: Gender, ministers and institutions in Scotland
Convery, A., & Kenny, M. (2024) · The British Journal of Politics and International Relations · doi:10.1177/13691481241280169 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…institution is therefore an empirical question, requiring a fine-grained investigation of the interplay between actors and rules in specific political contexts, and their connections to other institutions both within and outwith the political arena (Grahn, 2024; Kenny, 2013; Lowndes, 2020).”
- Authors
- Lowndes, V.
- Affiliations
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lowndes, Vivien
- ORCID
- Lowndes, Vivien
- Venue
- Political Studies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-08-29
- Volume
- 68
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 543-564
- ISSN
- 0032-3217 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9248
- OpenAlex
- W2971269744
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 19.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Political Studies (publishedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- european research council (Understanding Institutional Change: A Gender Perspective)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Politics and Representation
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Diversity and Inequality
- Keywords
- gendered institutions, gender equality policy, microfoundations, political institutions, gender and politics, regulation, persuasion, institutional change, gender justice, comparative politics
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