Atlas: Gender, Voluntarism and Social Capital: Women and the Struggle for Recognition and Rights in the UK . by Paul Chaney

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ISTR Sixth International Conference
Toronto, Canada / July 11-14, 2004
Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World

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Gender, Voluntarism and Social Capital: Women and the Struggle for Recognition and Rights in the UK .
by
Paul Chaney
Cardiff University School of Social Sciences, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3WT, WALES, UK.

This paper centres upon the Conference themes of 'gender and development in the Third Sector: advances in women's leadership' and 'new forms of exclusion: struggles for recognition, rights and collective identities'. It presents new findings from a major study of social capital and the participation of hitherto marginalized groups in government. It draws upon the findings of a detailed questionnaire survey of 1,100 members - and 100 semi-structured interviews with managers and co-ordinators - of women's third sector organizations. This analysis relates the universal theme of women's struggle for recognition and rights to the case study of Wales, UK. Here, as in the majority of polities, women have long been excluded and marginalized in the work of government. For example, since universal suffrage was introduced early in the last century through to 1997, the country had only elected four women to the UK parliament. In 1999, constitutional reform and the granting of limited self government to Wales has begun to effect a transformation. In 2003, the National Assembly for Wales became the first national legislature to achieve gender parity amongst its elected members. This paper is concerned with whether and how this recent transformation in the role of women has extended beyond formal representative politics and impacted upon women in civil society. Campaigning by gender equality activists has paved the way for potential progress by influencing the process of constitutional reform and securing pioneering legal and governmental measures to promote rights and recognise collective identities in order to include women's voluntary associations - and civil society generally - in the work of government and the development of public policy. Such measures include: an innovative statutory partnership between government and the third sector, a government-sponsored women's third sector policy network and a commitment by the executive to gender mainstreaming. In addition, a unique legal imperative was introduced that obliges government to promote equality of opportunity for women - and other groups - in relation to all its functions. Following women's earlier struggle for recognition and participation in government, this statutory innovation has effectively conveyed new, legally enforceable, rights to women.

The research data presented in this paper provide insights into the efficacy of the foregoing democratic innovations. This article explores the impact of these progressive measures on members and managers of women's voluntary associations and asks whether they have redefined the relationship between gender, voluntarism and the state in a manner that has met earlier demands for rights and recognition? Accordingly, this discussion examines whether 'top-down' initiatives to engage the third sector in the work of government are consonant with the self-expressed; 'bottom-up' needs of voluntary associations. Moreover, official government policy initiatives frequently make assumptions about prevailing levels of 'active citizenship' in the third sector, effectively treating it as a resource that may be 'harnessed' in order to promote equality, inclusiveness and diversity in the work of government. Here the social capital paradigm is used to reveal whether such assumptions are justified and whether the recent gender equality reforms are having an impact on women in civil society. The nature, quality and extent of women's engagement both with voluntary associations and the work of government is explored by reference to the norms, networks, trust and reciprocity that underpin contemporary third sector activism. In so doing, this analysis explores the salience to women's associative third sector activity of a range of factors and identities, including: feminism, ethnicity, disability, age, language, sexual orientation, nationality, and faith. It also examines the influence of contrasting methods of leadership in shaping women's involvement with voluntary organizations. Notably, the present findings provide valuable empirical evidence that can be used to address the contentious issue of whether it is possible for government to create social capital in a manner that facilitates the engagement of women - and other, hitherto marginalized groups - in the work of government. Based on the evidence of the third sector, this paper concludes with an assessment as to whether recent democratic innovations have led to changes in the recognition, rights and collective identities afforded to women by government.

Date received: August 2, 2003