The Gender Pact and Democratic Consolidation: Institutionalizing Gender Equality in the South African State
Author(s)
Hassim, Shireen
Abstract
This article has focused on the institutional conditions and relationships that would make women’s formal gains sustainable. Given the extent of constraints on women’s use of the state as an instrument, and the paradoxical reliance on the gender machinery for access to state resources, what are the prospects for entrenching gender equality as a marker of democratic consolidation? Phillipe Schmitter has argued that the initial advantages of interest groups and social movements in the transitional phase can be translated into “power advantages” if they are located strategically within production or the administration of the state. From this perspective, pursuing institutionalization was undoubtedly a rational strategy on the part of the women’s movement, and the “gender pact” was a major movement achievement. However, three factors need to be considered when assessing why institutionalization has not, as yet, translated into a “power advantage” for women. These include the depth of institutionalization of gender equity principles, the extent to which redistribution of power and public resources is pursued as an overall political goal of democracy, and the degree of autonomy and organization of the women’s movement.
