Sex Matters: The Importance of Womens Political Representation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Professor Sarah Childs

Sex Matters: The Importance of Women’s Political Representation

Virginia Sapiro

• Why should I wish to be represented by a woman,

indeed, a redheaded woman?

• I could say … that such a person, resembling me, would

represent my interest.

• And how do you know that?
• Because she is in the same position I am and could act

for me. She would understand and feel the same way

• When you say ‘the same position’, do you mean as a

woman or as a redhead?

• As a woman of course.
• Why as a woman and not as a redhead?
• Because being a redhead is not politically relevant and

being a woman is

Arguments for women’s political presence

• 1. Justice
• 2. Symbolic representation (role model)
• 3. Acting for (link descriptive/substantive)
• 4. Style

[amended Phillips 1995 and Lovenduski 1997]

Mansbridge 1999, 628

In at least four contexts, for different functions, disadvantaged groups may want to be represented by ‘descriptive representatives

• 1. Adequate communication in contexts of mistrust

[SRW]

• 2. Innovative thinking in contexts of uncrystallized,

not fully articulated interests – improve deliberation [SRW]

• 3. Creating a social meaning of ‘ability to rule’
• 4. Increasing polity’s de facto legitimacy in contexts
• f past discrimination

Single or Lower House: Regional Averages (IPU)

Regional Average Single or Lower House Nordic 42.1% Americas 25.0% Europe Including Nordic 24.7% Europe Excluding Nordic 23.1% Sub-Saharan Africa 22.4% Asia 18.2% Arab States 17.8%

www.ipu.org

rank Country % 1st Rwanda 63.8% 4th Sweden 45% 7th Finland 42.5% 8th South Africa 42.3% 12th Mozambique 39.2% Rank Country % 59th UK 22.5% 39th France 26.9% 80thst USA 17.8% 88th Ireland 15.7% 118th Brazil 8.6%

Political Recruitment 1992- 2010, by Sex, UK Parliament

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 men Women

Numbers of UK Women MPs 1997-2010, by Party

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 1997 2001 2005 2010 LibDem Consv Labour

Determinants of Descriptive Representation

• Socio-economic
• women’s participation in the public sphere and ‘pipe-

line’ professions; social-democratic state

• Cultural
• measures of egalitarianism; secularism; date of

women’s enfranchisement

• Political
• PR; positive discrimination; women’s presence in

party hierarchies; left wing parties; centralized party selection processes; salience of ‘women’s vote’

Supply and Demand

Supply

• ‘outcome reflects supply of applicants’
• Fewer resources: time, money, ambition, confidence,

experience

Demand

• ‘selectors choose candidates depending on

their perceptions of the applicants’ abilities, qualifications and experience’

• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination – what constitutes good MP
• Imputed – perception that voters may discriminate

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3 Strategies

• Equality Rhetoric:
• Public acceptance of claims for

representation,

• Equality Promotion:
• Attempts to bring those who are currently

under-represented into political competition

• Equality Guarantees:
• Measures that, all other things being equal,

guarantee the selection and election of women

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Quotas

http://www.quotaproject.org/system.cfm#constnational Quota Type Definition Examples Constitutional quota

Quota provisions mandated in constitution Burkino Faso, Nepal, Phillipines, Uganda

Election law quota

Quota provisions in national legislation or regulations Latin US, Belgium, Bosnia Herzogovina, Sudan

Political party quota

Rules or targets set by political parties Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Germany, Norway, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, UK

Reconsidering Quotas: Opponents claims

• Unnecessary as numbers will increase
• Insufficient numbers of qualified women
• Undermine principle of merit
• (s)elected women will be stigmatized
• (s)elected women will be tokens,

dependent upon husbands/fathers

Critical Mass

1. With an increase in relative numbers: minority members are potentially allies, can form coalitions and affect the culture of the group 2. … minority members begin to become individuals differentiated from each other 3. Despite lack of change in relative numbers, two is not always large enough number to

• vercome the problems of tokenism …unless

the tokens are highly identified with their own social group

Childs and Krook Rethinking SRW

• 1. From when women make a difference to

how the substantive representation of women occurs

• 2. Refocusing the investigation from the

macro level (ie, what do ‘women’ do?) to the micro-level (ie, what do specific women do?)