Women’s Political Activism and Civic Engagement in Latin America

Abstract

Under the authoritarian regimes that dominated the 1950s to the 1980s, during the regional wave of democratization, and as citizens of new democracies, women have been instrumental political actors in many facets of politics in the Latin American region. Due to the many ways women are involved in politics, academic studies of the role of gender in contentious politics are equally varied, encompassing disciplines such as political science, sociology, and anthropology. Women engage in politics both inside and outside the state in many different ways. In this bibliography, we are focused on women’s political activism outside the state and women’s engagement as citizens. Whereas the study of women’s representation in government focuses on women as elites, this bibliography focuses on political activism from non-state actors, such as social movements, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), opinion leaders, and grassroots leaders, as well as political engagement in terms of citizens’ participation. For more information on women in formal political roles, see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article Women’s Representation in Governmental Office in Latin America.