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

Abstract

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.