Christina Xydias’ book originally contributes to the literature on gender and women’s representation, challenging the traditional association of feminism with the left wing and of gender conservatism with the right wing. Both the representation of women (and other marginalized groups) and their neglect can be observed across the political spectrum. The book effectively and thoroughly explores the ideological complexities of gender and ethnic politics in contemporary Europe. It focuses on the German case study, complemented by a cross-national analysis across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The introduction presents debates on (multiply marginalized) women’s representation and interests. The main objective of the book is to disaggregate the left/right divide and deliver a fine-grained analysis of cross-party ideological differences, which can help explain variations in advocacy for women, including those who are multiply marginalized/racialized women.
Chapter 2 generates a series of hypotheses on the effects of ideological and institutional factors on women’s representation, defining an expected variation among parties in Germany and cross-nationally. Four ideological axes (economic redistributionism/liberalism, social progressivism/traditionalism, post-materialism/materialism, and multiculturalism/hegemonic-ethnic supremacy) are associated with different understandings of and expectations about women’s interests. The conceptual framework of the study considers both the institutional (formal and informal rules) and sociocultural (attitudes) contexts, defining constraints and opportunities for women’s representation in Germany.
Chapter 3 discusses the politics of gender and ethnicity in Germany, examining both institutional (party and electoral system) and ideological (feminist politics, model of integration, and citizenship) dimensions. It also presents the 14 parties under study, locating them in relation to the four ideological axes.
The following empirical chapters operationalize the four ideological axes to show that cross-party ideological variation is multidimensional. Each empirical chapter concludes with the profile of a female leader or of specific parties and policies to illustrate central findings.
Chapter 4 assesses whether, and how, German parties acknowledge women’s underrepresentation as a worth-tackling problem. Finding significant cross-party variation, it shows that both the left- and right-wing neglect this issue, and that all parties exclude multiply marginalized women.
Chapter 5 focuses on intra-party formal (gender quotas) and informal (mentoring programs) strategies for tackling women’s underrepresentation. Significant variation exists across parties, which does not easily match the left/right divide.
Chapter 6 looks at parties’ success in nominating, electing, and appointing women. In line with earlier chapters, it finds significant cross-party differences but also similarities in parties’ failure to include marginalized women. Accounts based on the left/right divide are insufficient to explain these variations and convergences.
Chapter 7 tackles the inclusion of women in the military. This issue materializes long-established notions of gender/sexuality and ethnicity/whiteness, which are at the heart of constructions of national belonging and citizenship. It proves to be a problematic issue for many parties across the spectrum—hence, illuminating the ideological complexity behind the left/right divide.
Chapter 8 draws on cross-national statistical data, shedding light on the role played by specific political systems in parties’ capacity to ensure women’s representation. Left-wing parties commit to women’s representation across countries, while right-wing parties’ engagement with these issues importantly depends on conducive environments—in terms of attitudes and policies.
The book concludes (chapter 9) with a discussion of the 2021 federal elections, further illustrating that left/right categories do not fully account for the complex politics of gender and ethnicity in Germany.
The book achieves the promised objective of mapping the multidimensionality of party ideologies and challenging the assumption that there is a “fit” between the left wing and women’s representation. It substantiates these claims based on a methodological strategy combining statistics with documentary materials and interviews, and drawing from a conceptual framework firmly located in research on gender and politics, party politics, and representation. As a sociologist of gender and ethnicity with an expertise in qualitative and ethnographic approaches, here I engage with its contributions for studies of gender and right-wing parties and mobilizations. In particular, the book offers insight into the ambivalent ideology and politics of the radical right (henceforth RR) and can be of interest to scholars researching gender in this party family, a field that has significantly developed in recent years as a result of the growing relevance of gender/women’s issues in RR politics. I identify two main contributions.
First, the findings can be used to advance the debate on conceptualizing the relationship between RR politics and gender. Scholars are questioning whether gender conservatism is a defining ideological trait of the RR. As the book demonstrates, sociocultural conservatism and women’s underrepresentation can hardly be seen as distinctive of right-wing parties: there are significant cross-party continuities in sexism/patriarchal structures. The RR has traditionally been seen as monolithically sexist, but it does not have a monopoly on sexism. While, across contexts, RR politics remains informed by heteronormativity and gender essentialism, these parties are not against women’s interests tout court. Exploring these questions is especially important today as the current mainstreaming of RR politics makes the task of defining the RR increasingly complex: these parties largely (and effectively) mobilize women’s/gender equality issues to normalize their ideas and to attract women’s support. Striving to define the role of gender in RR ideology, some scholars claim that gender is a foundational ideological dimension of the RR, while others claim that it merely serves other, more prominent, dimensions such as nativism. Unpacking the multiple layers of party ideology (which include social progressivism vs. traditionalism and multiculturalism vs. hegemonic-ethnic supremacy), the book opens pathways for future research in this area. Moreover, this book contributes to this task by comparing the RR with other parties, which is largely missing from studies of RR and gender, and from RR studies more broadly.
Second, the book provides ground for future analyses of the complex drivers of women’s vote for and engagement in right-wing parties, including the RR: this espouses anti-feminist positions and, in many contexts, is allied with so-called anti-gender movements opposing gender equality policies. One of the effects of taking for granted the left/right divide is that those supporting right-wing parties are condescendingly regarded as delusional, who are not fully conscious of their own interests as women. At best, these women are seen as a political and conceptual “puzzle” (page 1). In the context of growing female vote for the RR, and of increasing visibility of women within these parties, it is important to understand the complexity of women’s motives for supporting the RR and the different ways in which RR ideologies can appeal to them in gender-specific ways. The debate is still marked by a “gender bias”: it is often assumed that women are drawn to these parties because they are attached to socially traditionalist values. The book connects with a growing literature evidencing that women’s interests are not necessarily feminist. RR women are not simply ideological “dupes” or driven by their desire to defend traditional domestic roles, but may respond positively to the ambivalent gendered ideologies of these parties. Further, not all left-wing parties are reliable advocates for women, and not all are especially feminist.
Alongside these important contributions, some aspects of the analysis could have been further developed. I have three remarks here.
First, I would have enjoyed a greater discussion of the role of cultural contexts in defining opportunities and constraints for parties’ engagement with women’s issues and representation. The impact of historical-cultural settings is included in the conceptual framework, but the analysis only considers attitudes on gender and identity/ethnic minorities. While this is common in politics research, context-specific discursive legacies importantly shape if and how parties engage with women’s representation and mobilize supporters in favor or against it. Broader cultural contexts include the repertoires available to parties in framing women’s issues and mobilizing women in ways that connect with other (possibly more prominent) layers of their ideology. Whether parties in a given country acknowledge women’s underrepresentation as a worth-tackling problem depends on distinctive feminist traditions of gender equality/difference and how nationally specific ways of constructing gender are intertwined with historically established notions of whiteness/cultural difference.
Second, it is a pity that—presumably also due to the timeframe of the publication—the book did not discuss the most recent developments in gender and ethnicity politics in Germany, including the “puzzle” of RR female leadership. In 2025, the Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD), an overtly anti-feminist party led by a woman, continued its electoral rise. The Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, established in 2024, would have also offered an interesting case as it combines apparently contradictory left-wing and right-wing positions in its program.
Finally, while the book is certainly of interest to those mobilizing in support of gender equality and women’s representation, it does not include a discussion of the relevance of its findings for feminist mobilizations. An inclusive intersectional approach in both feminist scholarship and mobilization is key to navigating the challenges raised by the surge of RR and anti-gender politics today. The book examines the implicit racialized nature of party politics across the political spectrum, which benefits privileged groups of women, leaving multiply marginalized women’s claims unaddressed. State feminism has often ignored racialized women’s experiences, creating a space for the RR to appropriate gender issues and frame them in exclusionary/nativist ways. This has challenged feminists and hindered the capacity of mainstream parties to positively engage with women’s representation/interests. To counter this, those engaging in promoting gender equality will need to create a more progressive and inclusive narrative around these issues that engages racialized/multiply marginalized women’s interests.
