Priscilla A. Lambert and Druscilla L. Scribner, A Politics of Difference versus a Politics of Equality: Do Constitutions Matter?

Should women's rights advocates pursue a politics of difference or a politics of equality? This question is addressed by coding for and analyzing the use of gender in constitutional structures in seventy-four countries. Countries with constitutional structures that emphasize women's different needs and provide gender-based protections are compared to countries with constitutional structures that emphasize equality or gender neutrality. Examining whether these differences have a significant effect on women's political representation and economic standing, it appears that a politics of difference based on constitutional provisions that proactively promote women's equality in the political and economic sphere is positively associated with gender equality-especially political equality.