The volume brings together a stellar group of contributors who examine the social capital thesis by means of four different approaches: theoretical, historical, comparative, and empirical. In the end, this book will serve to answer two fundamental questions which have hitherto been neglected: What can a gendered analysis tell us about social capital? And what can social capital tell us about women and politics?

Preface 1. Removing Rose Colored Glasses: Examining Theories of Social Capital through a Gendered Lens by Elisabeth Gidengil and Brenda O'Neill 2. Just Communities: Social Capital, Gender and Culture by Barbara Arneil 3. The Gender Gap Reversed: Political Consumerism as a Women-Friendly Form of Civic and Political Engagement by Dietlind Stolle and Michele Micheletti 4. Gendering Social Capital: Bowling in Women's Leagues? by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart 5. Acting from the Heart: Values, Social Capital, and Women Involvement in Interfaith and Environmental Organizations by Amy Caiazza and Barbara Gault 6. Conceptualizing Social Capital in Relation to Children and Young People: Is it Different for Girls? by Virginia Morrow 7. Gender, Social Capital and Politics by Virginia Sapiro 8. Canadian Women's Religious Volunteerism: Compassion, Connections and Comparisons by Brenda O'Neill 9. It's Not What You've Got, but What You Do With It: Women, Social Capital and Political Participation by Vivien Lowndes 10. Gender, Knowledge and Social Capital by Elisabeth Gidengil, Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, Neil Nevitte and André Blais 11. Gender-Role Orientations and the Conversion of Social Capital into Political Engagement by Joanna Everitt 12. Persuasion and Perception: New Models of Network Effects on Gendered Issues by Bonnie Erickson 13. Changing Agendas: The Impact of Feminism on American Politics by Kristin A. Goss and Theda Skocpol 14. Are Women Legislators Accountable to Women? The Complementary Roles of Feminist Identity and Women's Organizations by Susan J. Carroll 15. Gender, Social Capital and Political Engagement: Findings and Future Directions by Elisabeth Gidengil and Brenda O'Neill Comprehensive Bibliography