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The National Action Committee on the Status of Women marked the twentieth anniversary of its founding in 1992. Today, it is the umbrella organization for roughly six hundred women’s groups in Canada. The authors of this study argue that, if women’s movements are to achieve their equality goals, they must develop enduring institutions that allow women’s efforts to be organized over the course of several generations. The authors examine the process of institutionalization through an in-depth study of the National Action Committee. In the belief that women’s movements in Canada have become more or less permanent features of the political system, operating parallel to its official structures, the author argue the need for a feminist political science that can accommodate the study of both women’s politics in their autonomous movements and women’s conventional activities in official politics. Indeed, this book undertakes political analysis ‘as if women mattered’: it focuses on women’s interests and draws on feminist theory while remaining connected to the broad framework of political science. The book documents NAC’s evolution as a ‘parliament of women.’ It shows how the organization moved from a fairly narrow status-of-women focus in its policies to a broadly conceived policy framework that linked such apparently sex-neutral issues as free trade, federalism, and taxation to feminism. Although the more comprehensive feminist approach to public policy proved dangerous for NAC in a conservative era, it also solidified its role and reputation as a major play in equality-seeking politics in Canada. --Publisher's description. Contents: Introduction : NAC and women's politics in Quebec ; NAC and women's politics in the first nations ; NAC and the politics of the 'new force' ; NAC as the coordinating institution of the English-Canadian women's movement ; Highlights of NAC's development -- The intellectual and political context for the development of NAC : An overview of women's movements and the National Action Committee ; Canadian political culture and Canadian women's movements ; Radical influences on feminist political culture ; NAC's political-opportunity structure: the Canadian political system -- NAC in the shadow of the royal commission: the founding era, 1972-1978 : 'Social' movements and the political process ; The founding of NAC -- The struggle for NAC: the transitional era, 1979-1982 : The issues in conflict: grafting on a radical grass roots ; Two coalitions competing for the future of NAC -- A new Parliament of women: institutionalizing NAC, 1982-1988 : Getting NAC 'back on track' ; The great leap forward: the expansion examined ; Opposition on the right ; Organizational review -- Agency, leadership, representation, and democracy in NAC : A revolution of rising expectations: NAC member groups ; Leadership and accountability: is anyone here in charge? ; Representation: the heart of the matter ; Process and democracy in NAC -- The policy process: structures for a new Parliament of women : Changing conceptions of the policy process in NAC ; Evolving policy structures in NAC ; NAC's ability to deal with short-term policy issues ; NAC's approach to long-term policy issues -- Feminist ideology and policy making in NAC : In search of a framework: understanding the ideological trends in NAC ; The development of a feminist ideological spectrum in NAC: some benchmark issues ; From a status-of-women approach to a feminist politics -- Conclusion : What is success? ; Can NAC's role as a Parliament of women continue? ; Is radical liberalism outmoded as a cultural basis for NAC politics? ; Will NAC survive? -- Appendixes : A. Ideological forces among Anglophone NAC delegates, 984 AGM ; B. Groups affiliated with NAC by type, circa 1987-1988.

OCLC: 27384344