'Wylie's book is a tour de force, presenting a nuanced and detailed account of a perplexing case, with implications for reigning paradigms in the comparative gender and politics literature, as well as the study of Brazilian politics.' Mona Lena Krook, Perspectives on Politics
1. A crisis of representation: the puzzle of women's underrepresentation in Brazil; 2. Willing and able: party institutionalization, party leadership, and women's representation; 3. Brazil's quota law and the challenges of institutional change amidst weak and gendered institutions; 4. Overcoming gendered obstacles: voters, electoral rules, and parties; 5. Electoral rules, party support, and women's unexpected successes in elections to the Brazilian Senate; 6. Supermadres, Lutadoras, and technocrats: the bounded profiles of Brazil's female politicians; 7. Intersections between race and fender in Brazil's 2014 Chamber of Deputies Elections; 8. Theoretical implications and comparative perspectives.