This comparative study examines feminist engagement with a broad range of political institutions in Australia and Canada.

Feminists, like other political actors, cannot avoid the state.Whether they want equal pay, anti-domestic violence laws, refugee orchildcare centres, they must engage with state institutions. Whatdetermines the nature and extent of this involvement? Why are somefeminists more willing to engage with some institutions, while othersare not?

Gendering Government seeks to answer these questionsthrough a comparison of feminist engagement with political institutionsin Australia and Canada. Chappell considers what effect politicalinstitutions have had on shaping feminist claims, and in turn, to whatextent these claims shape the nature of these institutions. She adds anew dimension to our understanding of the relationship between genderinterests and government, showing how the interaction is dynamic andmutually defining. She further extends existing comparative studies inthe field of women and politics by examining the full range of suchinstitutions, including the electoral, parliamentary,legal/constitutional, and bureaucratic arenas.

"An important contribution to feminist political science and will be of interest to the discipline generally ... I especially admire its clear, jargon-free style of writing, a pleasure to read." - Canadian Journal of Political Science

"She offers analysis of the formation of late twentieth century feminist politics, or electoral politics, bureaucracies, courts, federal institutions, and NGOs. Her claim that this is the first work to offer this level of analysis is a strong one: she considers a range of institutions and time frames for both countries. It is a rich and full picture." - Canadian Literature, Issue 186, Autumn 2005