Diffusion and institutionalization of management councils for women's policies in Brazil (1985-2022)

Abstract

Based on the analytical distinction between diffusion and institutionalization, this study investigates how the relationship between the territorial expansion and institutionalization of municipal councils for women's policies in Brazil unfolded between 1985 and 2022. The central core of the problem lies in understanding the extent to which the expansion of these participatory bodies accompanied, reflected, or decoupled from the broader processes of institutionalizing women's policies nationwide. The analysis is organized into three distinct periods (1985–2002, 2003–2015, and 2016–2022), examining how different political contexts shaped specific dynamics between territorial expansion, the institutional strength of councils, and the institutionalization of the women's policy agenda. The data suggest distinct patterns of diffusion and institutionalization across these periods: the first marked by slow diffusion contingent on local political climates; the second defined by a more capillary, institutionally sustained expansion; and the third revealing a paradoxical scenario, where the continued expansion of councils—including peak moments—coexisted with the dismantling of federal structures.