What obstacles do women politicians face in performing their representative function?
MR: Once they are in positions of power, women continue to face discrimination with respect to their male peers. In many countries, because they are very few in number, they tend to be relegated to questions that have traditionally been identified as women’s issues. So women lawmakers often have difficulties in getting on committees like defence or the economy, or in attaining positions of influence within the parliamentary structures. In the case of Argentina, the researchers who contributed to this book show that women have had quite a lot of difficulty in becoming chairs of congressional committees. They also receive different treatment in the media. Women are continually questioned or grilled about issues with regard to which men are never questioned. The media are endlessly preoccupied with the physical appearance of women politicians: are they heavy-set or slim, do they dress well, do they go to the hairdresser to get their hair styled, are they good-looking or unattractive, are
