Feminizing world power: A new constellation of women in politics?

Abstract

This article charts the emergence of women leaders currently in power, the highest it has ever been with 22 female heads of state and political leaders in 2015. It canvases Fukuyama's (1988) sociobiology arguments and those of feminists on questions of women's political representation. It briefly investigates the "critical mass" argument of Kanter (1977) and others to ask whether there is a new constellation of women in politics, especially with Hillary Clinton's possible ascendancy to the US presidency, leading to the possibility of feminizing world power.