Women’s political rights in a society of gender equality

Abstract

Background. In the XX-XXI centuries politics is becoming an increasingly professional field of activity, to which more and more women are joining. Insufficient representation of the latter in state bodies gives grounds for doubts about the democracy of the state system, which determined the relevance of the study.
Analysis of recent research and publications. Various aspects of the position of woman in Ukrainian politics have been studied by T. Martseniuk, Ya. Radysh, V. Smachylo, and G. Yurovska, but today we are required to carry out a comprehensive legal analysis of the formation of a gender equality society in Ukraine.
The aim of the article is to study national legislation on the issue of gender equality in the political sphere, taking into account international standards; analysis of mechanisms for increasing the number of women in politics based on the generalization of the experience of developed democracies.
Materials and methods, that were used - dialectical, comparative analysis, systemic, formal and legal scientific methods and principles.
Results. An important aspect of the struggle of women for their political rights was that the latest constitutions of the states enshrined the principle of equality of citizens, including in the electoral process, regardless of gender, race and political views. Analysis of the political experience of social democracies has shown that the participation of women deputies in the work of parliaments and other representative institutions is extremely important and effective for society as a whole, because they focus on health care, upbringing, education, social protection of population, etc.
In Ukraine, equality between woman and man has been established de jure, but gender stereotypes regarding the distribution of roles continue to dominate society and consciousness. The most successful international practices include the creation of a parliament on the basis of gender equality through the application of: positive actions for the implementation of gender quotas; creation of state institutions to monitor the observance of equal rights for women and men; implementation of gender expertise of bills.
Conclusion. Our study has improved the thesis that in Ukraine there is an objective need to change the patriarchal type of political culture. In this regard, we have proposed measures that can increase the status of Ukrainian woman in politics: to further monitor national legislation; introduce national mechanisms to ensure the representation of women in government; create the necessary economic conditions for the implementation of women's political activity.