Book on Brazilian women’s first steps in politics launched
Even though it presents a comprehensive analysis of this subject, the book is written in a light and simple style, to suit the academic public, people in politics and other people with an interest in the topic
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In the run-up to Brazil’s municipal elections, FGV Press has just published an intense and long book featuring the moving stories of a hundred Brazilian women from all over the country who decided to tackle various obstacles and fight for a place in politics.
According to the book, Brazil is currently one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the presence of women in politics, and the worst in Latin America. Despite often having a minimal chance of success, every two years a huge number of women run for office. They include teachers, small businesswomen, police officers and community leaders, who learn to balance politics with work and family life. They invest a lot of time and energy in this endeavor, but only a handful manage to get elected. As a result, just 17.7% of seats in the House of Representatives are currently held by women and 82.3% are held by men. In practice, men end up making the decisions in all areas, including those that concern women.
Concerned about this huge under-representation of women, Malu Gatto of University College London and Débora Thomé of Fundação Getulio Vargas, both of whom have doctorates in politics, set out in search of answers to try to understand what was happening to women and their struggles to get elected. In the 2020 and 2022 elections, they went out into the field to ask them what made them run for office, how they experienced this process, what types of violence they had faced and what their strategies were for getting along better with their parties.
Based on 188 interviews with 102 candidates (79 women and 23 men) and official data from the Superior Electoral Court, their book, “Candidatas: os primeiros passos das mulheres na política do Brasil” (“Female candidates: Women’s first steps in Brazilian politics”), published by FGV Press, draws on the academic literature to analyze evidence extracted directly from the voices of the protagonists of these stories. It presents the experiences of empowered black, white, young and old women, from all regions of the country and from all parties, with very different backgrounds. Moreover, the book presents the voices of these women. Divided into 10 chapters, it covers everything from the initial factors that make them run for office, their choice of party and relationship with it, election campaigns, political violence, post-election moments, and what happens when they are elected.
Given such a large number of interviews, this is a rare research effort in Brazil, which makes it possible to present a broad mosaic of female candidates’ perspectives, the opportunities they had and their challenges in this process.
Even though it offers a comprehensive analysis of this subject, the book is written in a light and simple style, to suit the academic public, people in politics and other people with an interest in the topic, especially women who have been increasingly discussing the issue of occupying spaces of power. Most of the cases involve first-time candidates. Some of them are well known and others are more obscure. The examples help explain how women take the first steps in their political careers, together with their mistakes and successes, victories and defeats.
The candidates’ stories blend together to present how women from various parts of Brazil decided to enter politics and how they continue to face obstacles in their parties, on the streets and at the ballot box. They all lack time and money, but have plenty of courage, so they carry on fighting.
About the authors
Malu A. C. Gatto is a professor at University College London. She has a doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford and she is the author of several academic papers on women in politics.
Débora Thomé is a postdoctoral researcher at FGV Cepesp. She has a doctorate in politics from Fluminense Federal University in Rio de Janeiro and she is the author of “Mulheres e Poder” (“Women and Power”), published by FGV Press.
Launch events:
July 29, Livraria Quixote, Belo Horizonte
August 7, Livraria do Glauber, Salvador
August 24, Janela Livraria, Rio de Janeiro
Details of book:
Title: “Candidatas: os primeiros passos das mulheres na política do Brasil” (“Female candidates: Women’s first steps in Brazilian politics”)
Authors: Malu Gatto and Débora Thomé
200 pages
R$52
Available for pre-order on the FGV Press website.
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