Women and decision-making participation within rightist parties in Portugal and Spain

ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: This article focuses on women's participation within conservative political parties in Portugal and Spain. It deals with the factors that may explain their increased participation since the 1990s, as well as the consequences thereof. Although women's political representation in both countries has increased, the differences between the Partido Popular Democrático-Partido Social-Democrata (PPD-PSD) and the Alianza Popular-Partido Popular (AP-PP) are still considerable. This study points out the factors that may have influenced the greater participation of women within the AP-PP, in comparison with the PPD-PSD, making use of interviews with leaders, both women and men, from those parties. // ABSTRACT IN PORTUGUESE: Este artigo analisa a participação das mulheres nos partidos políticos conservadores em Portugal e Espanha. Explora os factores que podem justificar o aumento da sua participação nestes partidos desde a década de 90 e as consequências que dai advieram. Apesar de a representação politica das mulheres ter aumentado em ambos os países, as diferenças entre o Partido Popular Democrático-Partido Social-Democrata (PPD-PSD) e a Alianza Popular-Partido Popular (AP-PP) são consideráveis. Este estudo realça as condições que poderão ter influenciado a maior participação das mulheres no AP-PP em comparação com o PPD-PSD, recorrendo aos depoimentos de líderes de ambos os sexos dos referidos partidos. Reprinted by permission of Analise Social