Designing Feminist Institutions

Is it possible to design and build feminist legislatures? If so, how and by and with whom? Designing Feminist Institutions provides a novel study of feminist institutionalism in practice. Drawing on her own ethnographic research within the UK Parliament, Sarah Childs suggests that political institutions in need of gender sensitizing would benefit from the perspective of feminist academic critical actors. Childs defines these scholars as both analysts and agents of change, who are embedded in legislatures to think about institutional design from the inside out. As a feminist academic critical actor inside the UK House of Commons, Childs negotiated the highly masculinized political arena--confronting questions of access, legitimacy, authority, accountability, ethics, and safety. In this book, she evaluates these experiences, as well as new gendered dynamics, and critical moments to present her vision of The Good Parliament. In so doing, she explores the 'why', 'how' and 'what' of institutional re-gendering. Through vignettes, participant observation, original interviews, and parliamentary analysis, Childs illustrates wider lessons in redesigning and refashioning feminist institutions and sheds light on the particularities of allyship, resistance, and backlash. She asks, too, what new ethical issues arise when academics are intent on bringing about change, how to navigate competing political objectives, and what is 'in the interest' of women when it comes to representative democracy. Designing Feminist Institutions advances feminist institutionalist theory through a novel consideration of the experience, knowledge, and perspectives necessary to instigate and institute feminist change.

Sarah Childs is Professor of Politics and Gender at the University of Edinburgh. She researches the theory and practice of women's political representation, gender and political parties, and gender (in)sensitive parliaments. Childs is the author of five previous books, including the award-winning Feminist Democratic Representation (with Karen Celis). An impactful academic, she works with international organizations drafting gender sensitive parliament (GSP) materials and undertaking audits, and advises the UK and Scottish Parliaments on their gender sensitizing parliament efforts.