In this paper we examine the development of Political Woman in Canada over the last century, from Suffrage to the Welfare State, with a view to understanding the political sensibility and the nature of our gendered political cultures. The hidden injuries women have sustained through their depiction in political theory and political practice have left their mark negatively in the political alienation of women and positively in their vision of the welfare state. We suggest that there have been two welfare states: one based on crisis management, the other on values and culture. The strong association between women and the welfare state is examined from two perspectives: 1) neo-maternalist theories about "maternal thinking"; 2) the historical structuring of inequality. We speculate about the future of women and the formation of a global political culture as the nation-state declines.

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