1. Dr. Justine N. Uvuza, Newcastle University

2. Feminist /Gender Perspectives and wellbeing. Outline Introduction Country context Key findings Policy Limitations Conclusion “Understanding gender requires us to go beyond the obvious and to reconsider issues we may think are self-evident and already well understood.” Wharton (2011:2)

3. Introduction My thesis analysed Rwandan women politician’s lived experiences of balancing the private and public roles and the impact this has on their career development. The data speaks to the tensions in women’s lives that affect wellbeing both in terms of organizational structure and cultures at different levels: -As mothers -As wives -Work culture, gender bias and public scrutiny

4. This research was influenced by feminist theories regarding gender equality and difference, public and private spheres and social justice debates; advanced by feminists such as Hunt 1990; Richardson 1993; Tobias 1997, Yuval Davis and Webner 1999; Nussbaum 2003 and Abbott, Nativel, & Wallace 2013). For example, has women’s participation created more freedoms, more space, and more choices? Has women’s access to and participation in politics improved their lives?

5. Country Context and Background  Women make up 64 % Deputies, more than 30% in the cabinet, at permanent secretary level, the judiciary and at Local government;  Exists a political will;  Gender machineries;  Positive Legal and Policy framework While there are special measures to increase the number of women in decision-making generally and politics specifically, the cultural filters in which gender inequality is based have received less attention.

6. Findings / impact on personal wellbeing.(1) Benefit from political work H/e, curtailed by the struggle to balance multiple roles Majority of the women mentioned that they gained from political participation in a number of ways; Socially, Economically & politically For example, More salary More confidence and self esteem Access to information, More work, twice the responsibility Work-family conflict Spill-over effect Marital discord, No social and leisure/recreation time

7. Findings (2) Limited choices and freedom Detrimental to the quality of care for children and other vulnerable family members (impact on other family members) Fatigue, pressure, stress, guilt; feelings of anxiety and anger Wellbeing has many dimensions, all of which could have different effects across genders.

8. Policy Limitations Neutralised policy approach (lack of gender analysis and mainstreaming skills) at inception, formulation and implementation stages. Government agenda/priorities, i.e. failure to put in place facilities that enables work and childcare Male-stream work environment discourages women from aspiring for politics - unless they fitted in, they may get out. Gender biases and public scrutiny scares women (especially for local politics) Resources to mobilise and build women’s capacity

9. Conclusion Politics must be feminised, feminised not only to add women to the table (still a long way to go), but also to systematically include women’s issues and perspectives. This requires going beyond statistics (numbers) to include the needs of different social categories. Statistics speaks to one story but leaves out the major story; the narratives about men and women’s (and other categories) live experiences.

10. Further readings Abbott, P., Nativel, C., & Wallace, C. (2013). “Dual earner parents strategies for reconciling work and care in seven European countries.”, Observatoire de la société britannique, (14), 73-97. Wharton, A. S. (2012) “Work and Family in the 21st Century: Four Research Domains”, Sociology Compass, 6(3): 219-235. Blakeley, G. and Bryson, V. (eds.) (2007) The Impact of Feminism on Political Concepts and Debates. Manchester: Manchester University Press. – Joni Lovenduski (2005). Feminising Politics. Cambridge: Polity.