Transnational Feminism and the Politics of Women’s Rights in Japan

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This presentation is based on information from Prof. Joyce Gelb’s soon to be released publication, “Gender Policies in Japan and the United States.” In it, Prof. Gelb explores the similarities and differences in gender related policy making and outcomes in Japan and the U.S., concentrating the areas of equal employment, domestic violence, and reproductive rights, with additional attention to gender equality in Japan and “family friendly policy” in both nations.

Prof. Gelb also analyzes the significance of international feminism and new standards of gender equity – kansetsu gaiatsu – as a resource for Japanese feminists seeking policy reform, as well as new trends toward policy cooperation.

To order a copy of Prof. Gelb’s book, “Gender Policies in Japan and the United States,” please visit https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781403976789.

Prof. Gelb is also a recipient of the 2003 AAARI Research Awards Program. She is currently doing research on “New Developments in Gender Related Policymaking in Japan: Exploring Cross Party Advocacy by Diet Women.”

Author Bio

Joyce Gelb is Professor of Political Science at City College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. She has been a visiting professor in recent years at Yale University and Doshisha and Tokyo Universities in Japan. Her research and publications deal primarily with comparative politics and policy including work on women's political participation, social movements, and policy making and outcomes in the US, Europe and Japan She is the author of Women and Public Policies: Reassessing Gender Politics (with Marian Palley) and Feminism and Politics : A Comparative Perspective, as well as numerous articles in edited volumes and journals. She has received grants from the Ford, Rockefeller and National Science Foundations. Dr. Gelb has just completed a book comparing gender related policy in the United States and Japan to be published by Palgrave at St.Martin’s Press in Fall 2003.