Nested Feminisms: How Institutional Designs Shape Women's Activism in Australia and Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper investigates the interplay between institutional frameworks and women's political participation through a comparative study of local government in Australia and Bangladesh. While Australia exemplifies professionalized inclusion through female quotas, formal mentoring programs, and bureaucratic processes, Bangladesh illustrates how grassroots movements navigate entrenched patriarchal exclusion. The study demonstrates that radical resistance and formal representation are interconnected dimensions of women's political agency rather than conflicting approaches. Using feminist institutionalism, political empowerment theory, and intersectional analysis, the paper introduces two novel conceptual tools—technocratic capture and subversive institutional bricolage—to illustrate how activists strategically navigate layered patriarchal constraints in diverse governance contexts. The findings illuminate the paradox of “nested newness,” showing how institutional gains can sometimes reinforce inequalities despite feminist interventions. Cross-case comparisons reveal hybrid pathways where formal institutional access and grassroots strategies intersect, producing interstitial spaces of empowerment that can be both transformative and replicable. By integrating political science and development studies approaches, the study provides a methodology for examining both formal and informal routes to empowerment, enriching research on gender and governance. Practical implications include designing intersectional policies that link grassroots mobilization with institutional reforms, enhancing participation for underrepresented groups such as Indigenous, rural, and working-class women. Future research should explore how digital platforms reshape insider/outsider dynamics, particularly within hybrid governance structures. Overall, the study advocates for synergistic strategies that combine institutional leverage and grassroots energy to advance sustained, gender-transformative change.

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