Review of: “Making Gender Salient: From Gender Quota Laws to Policy”

Abstract

In Making Gender Salient, Anna Catalano Weeks examines whether gender quotas lead to policy changes for women. Leveraging data from high-income democracies and four carefully selected case studies, she seamlessly weaves together large-N observational data with in-depth interviews and archival research to show that quotas do lead to policy change–but not necessarily in the ways we may have previously anticipated. Focusing on work-family policies this book breaks new ground and uncovers counterintuitive conclusions about when, how, and by whom women’s policy interests are addressed. Whereas champions of quotas often advocate that quotas will bring about positive policy change for women, skeptics suggest we should not observe policy change because party identity swamps gender identity. To tackle this puzzle, Weeks theorizes the avenues through which quotas influence policy making, leading her to draw insightful, yet counterintuitive conclusions. Essentially, she concludes that quotas result in policy change only on cross-cutting issues where there is a gender gap in preferences.