Gender and corruption: what we know and ways forward

The discussion of gender and corruption is one full of extremes – women as the new perfect anti-corruption force, on the one hand, or as the defenceless victims of corruption, on the other – yet the nuances of this relationship are still debated. In the last decade numerous studies have emerged, helping to untangle the relationship, yet a question which interestingly has been largely neglected is how gender dynamics shape the forms and experiences of corruption of both men and women in a society. This chapter explores the existing literature on corruption and gender and shows the different dynamics that have been identified in the relationship. To further explore the importance of gender dynamics this chapter presents sextortion as a paradigmatic example of the intertwining of gender relations and power relations in corruption.