Corruption and the Gender-Sensitive State

There is significant variation in gender equality across Europe. The probability that a woman has a high level of education and access to public infrastructure for the care of young children is much higher in Scandinavia, for example, than southern Europe. In order to adequately address gender equality, this book argues that two dimensions of ‘state power’ need to be considered; first, the willingness of the state to change in women-friendly directions, and second, the significant role of detrimental characteristics such as corruption needs to be recognized.Corruption is a central element in gender equality development, since in corrupt contexts women are often locked out of positions of power and have fewer opportunities to influence the will of the state to improve gender equality. Furthermore, in corrupt contexts, resources intended for the public good are diverted to serve private interests, thereby depriving the state of opportunities to enforce progressive societal change. This book argues that the willingness of the state to change and detrimental characteristics such as corruption should be studied in tandem in research on gender equality. Gender-sensitive state power is based on progressive legislation and budget priorities strengthening women’s self-determination, combined with mechanisms that make a state stable and ensure that resources do not leak in ways that compromise women’s room to manoeuvre in society.