A large, collaborative study by political scientists at the
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Western Michigan University
could provide new insight into how gender provisions in national
constitutions affect the economic and political standing of
women around the world. The three-year project, funded by a
$312,000 National Science Foundation collaborative research
grant, will involve comparing the constitutions of 100
countries. The researchers will analyze constitutional
provisions made for social, political and economic rights for
all citizens and any special provisions made for women, mothers
and families. “There is considerable debate over whether women
should pursue policies based on their equality with men, or if
they should accept and embrace their differences with men and
pursue policies that make allowances for these differences,”
said Druscilla Scribner, a UW Oshkosh assistant political
science professor. As is the case in the United States, policies
based on women’s equality with men come from th