Women's Movements and State Feminism: Integrating Diversity into Public Policy

This study examines the relationship between women’s movements and state feminism in order to explore the opportunities and constraints for integrating diversity questions into public policy making. The research is based on a comparative analysis of women’s policy machinery in Canada and Australia and focusses on the capacity of state feminist institutions to facilitate interaction between women’s movements and the state in support of successful policy interventions around diversity issues. Case studies in the area of anti-violence struggles are presented from Quebec, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia. In an era marked by globalization that has contributed to the dramatic restructuring of state institutions, the report concludes that women’s policy machinery can be an important site for integrating diversity questions into policy debates, provided effective linkages between feminists and state feminist institutions are in place.