The logics of gender justice : state action and women's rights around the world / Mala Htun, University of New Mexico, S. Laurel Weldon, Purdue University.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-338) and index.

Introduction: States and gender justice -- Feminist mobilization and status politics : combatting violence against women -- Governing women's legal status at work -- Doctrinal politics : religious power, the state, and family law -- Class politics : family leave and child care policy -- Reproductive rights : class, status, and doctrinal politics -- The multiple logics of gender justice.

his book looks at why do governments promote women's rights. Through analysis of state action in seventy countries from 1975 to 2005, the book shows how different women's rights issues involve different histories and trigger different conflicts. Change on violence against women and workplace equality involves a logic of status politics: feminist movements leverage international norms to contest women's subordination. Family law, abortion and contraception, conform to a logic of doctrinal politics, which turns on relations between religious groups and the state. Publicly-paid parental leave and child care follow a logic of class politics, in which the strength of Left parties and overall economic conditions are more salient.