Women, Politics and Constitutional Change: The First Years of the National Assembly for Wales

Female activists around the globe have long used the political opportunities afforded by constitutional reform to further gender equality and women’s participation in politics. This timely and accessible volume addresses the way in which changes introduced by devolved governance in Wales have transformed the role of women in contemporary Welsh politics and presented a new phase in the history of Welsh women’s activism. Based on original interviews with participants as well as a range of secondary sources, Women, Politics, and Constitutional Change examines the innovations, background, and effects that have led the new Welsh legislature to the second-highest proportion of women representatives in all of Europe, and the pro-devolution rhetoric of “inclusiveness” that opened the way.

Paul Chaney is research associate in the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences.

Fiona Mackay is lecturer in politics and an associate director of the Institute of Governance at the University of Edinburgh.

Laura McAllister is senior lecturer at the Liverpool University Institute of Public Administration.