"What role do women activists play in shaping government institutions? How do state institutions, in turn, influence feminists' choices and engagement with political structures? Whether working towards equal pay, anti-domestic violence laws, or the creation of refuges and childcare centres, women engage with, and work within, state structures. Gendering Government looks at the extent and quality of this interaction, and compares feminist involvement with political institutions in Australia and Canada.

This book goes beyond the standard debate that asks if feminists should engage with the state. Louise Chappell outlines a new facet of the relationship between gender interests and government and finds that the interaction is dynamic and mutually constructed."--BOOK JACKET.