Abstract
Research on gendered institutions reveals that women often face a dilemma of being masculinized or marginalized. Female politicians downplay gender differences to fit in or risk sanction for highlighting women's issues. Sub‐national institutions are closer and less prestigious, so decentralization may facilitate women's participation and gender equality. Examining Poland's 1998 decentralization, I analyze 40 semi‐structured interviews with male and female regional political elites using a mixed‐methods approach to test five hypotheses about gender attitudes. Women initially respond “no gender inequalities” but change their answers; many support the notion of more women in politics, but not quotas or women's policy machinery. The author wishes to thank Lisa Baldez, Sunita Parikh, Kathleen Montgomery, Irfan Nooruddin, Mona Lena Krook, Candice Ortbals, John Carey, Gary Miller, Erica Townsend Bell, Celeste Montoya, the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions; the Eisenhower Institute for supporting this research, and most importantly, the legislators, civil servants, and women's group leaders in Poland who participated in this study. All errors are my own.
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