Gender and Democratic Citizenship: The Impact of CEDAW

This article challenges criticisms of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), specifically that CEDAW is assimilationist, homogeneous, and essentialist. The author argues that CEDAW in fact provides a basis for transformative equality, and indeed mandates it. The author assesses the gap between the policy provisions established in CEDAW and social practices. The author also discusses the challenges of translating these policy provisions into practical solutions that allow women to behave as equal actors in the public sphere. The author ultimately argues that equal opportunity in practice should be considered a long-term goal, as well as an indicator of successful democratic citizenship for women, and that more work must be done to translate the formulation and commitment in CEDAW into political, economic, and social action.