Women and the Future of Democracy: Anti-Gender Politics and Women’s Electoral Responses in Brazil and the US.

Our paper examines the advances of the extreme right on democracy by shedding light on the attacks on gender and setbacks in women’s rights focusing on the gender dynamics in recent electoral processes in two very distinct societies and countries that, nonetheless, have experienced a converging and strong resurgence of the political right. We look into those trends in Brazil, a Global South country whose recent political history includes a military dictatorship, and the United States, a Global North country that has taken so much pride in its centuries-old democratic institutions. On the one hand, we draw attention to the similarities and convergences in the centrality given to anti-gender discourses and policies by right wing candidates and political parties. On the other hand, we put light on the increasing gender gaps in voting and their impact on the state of democracy in both countries.

Moving beyond gender gaps in voting, we also examine the recent changes in gender gaps in political representation, with both countries experiencing an increase in the number of women elected to political office with progressive agendas but also, in some cases, reproducing conservative views of gender. We conclude by discussing a) the factors that might explain both the electoral appeal and electoral contestation of the anti-gender agenda in such distinct contexts and) the extent to which women and gender issues might impact the future of democracy in those societies.