ABSTRACT
The end of communism in Eastern Europe created new opportunities for citizens to participate more widely in politics. For women, democratisation offered not only fresh prospects for political participation, but also for increasing gender equality in all spheres of life. The broader, comparative politics literature, however, points out that the extension of suffrage to women and the creation of participation rights do not, in and of themselves, guarantee gender equality, much less equality in representation. Even in countries with long democratic histories such as the US and the UK, women’s legislative representation remains low.
