Specialised parliamentary bodies: Their role and relevance to women's movement repertoire

In the past, feminist scholarship was often highly sceptical of institution-building within existing political and governance institutions. This may have contributed to a neglect of the new phenomenon of specialised parliamentary bodies with a gender equality remit. This article explores whether such parliamentary bodies can be an effective means of promoting the substantive representation of women and whether they can be understood as part of the diverse repertoire of contemporary women's movements.