Putting Women in Their Place: Gender, Power, and World Politics

The subordination of women to men is a powerful but invisible force that shapes international politics, economics, and security. Putting Women in their Place centers these lopsided power dynamics to examine how gender hierarchy both drives international dynamics and conditions how men and women experience things.

By critically assessing the ways gender norms shape political decision-making, economic development and financial disparities, and violence and conflict, Hilary Matfess expertly explains complex concepts and provides a compelling, approachable framework for interpreting global politics. This book weaves together personal stories, policy analysis, and the latest research to reveal the intertwining nature of gender oppression and systems of power, from local communities to the United Nations. It also offers a roadmap for rethinking world affairs through a feminist lens that foregrounds women’s agency, individuality, and varied motivations.

Hilary Matfess is an Assistant Professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Her research focuses on the gender dynamics of conflict.