Gender Gap in Political Representation and Recruitment

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Gender Gap in Political Representation and
Recruitment

• Professor Bernadette C. Hayes

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Lecture Outline

• Introduction A definition of the gender gap
• Mechanisms used to increase female political
  representation
• Gender gap in political representation
• Theoretical explanations for the
  under-representation of women
• Gender gap in legislative recruitment
• The process of legislative recruitment the
  British case
• Conclusion

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GENDER GAP

• Difference in the proportion of women and men
  holding political office
• ( women MPs - men MPs)
• Difference in the proportion of women and men
  selected as political/parliamentary candidates
• ( women candidates - men candidates)

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Assumptions of Democratic Theory

• Citizens will participate equally in political
  affairs
• Their decisions will carry equal weight
• How to achieve this ideal open to much dispute
• particularly the case in relation to the
  political representation of women

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Mechanisms Used to Increase the Political
Representation of Women

• Quotas/all women short-lists
• Twinning constituencies
• Use of top-up seats

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Quotas/All Women Short-Lists

• Introduced by Labour in the run up to (1993) the
  1997 general election
• In January 1996, was abandoned following a legal
  challenge by two aggrieved male applicants at an
  industrial tribunal as was believed to have
  contravened the sex discrimination act (1975)
• Change of law in 2002 sex discrimination
  (election candidates) act (sdca)
• Allows but does not require political parties to
  implement quotas of women/all women shortlists
  for a limited period of time
• The act has a sunset clause in that provisions
  expire at the end of 2015, although can be
  extended by secondary legislation
• In 2005, only Labour took advantage of its
  provisions by reintroducing all women shortlist
  (AWS) in its candidate selection in the majority
  of its retirement seats (labour mp standing down)
• Also used by the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP)
  in 2003

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Blaires babes The 101 Female MPs elected in
1997
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Fiona Jones died January 8th 2007

• Fellow MP, Jane Griffiths, who was deselected in
  2005 said The Party nationally and locally
  threw Fiona to the wolves, and if Tony cant
  sleep at night it should be about this.

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Retired after one term

• Tess Kingham Jenny Jones

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Conservatives Rejects Quotas

• A- List 100 Priority Candidates
• Equal proportions of men and women
• Local associations from 150 winnable seats
  required to choose from the list
• Unpublished Louise Bagshawe (novelist) and Adam
  Rickitt (soap star)

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Newsnight research

• 52 privately educated
• 46 women
• 89 previous involved (worked with or stood for
  election) with Conservative party
• 61 from South of England
• 66 work in business/media/politics

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Conservative MP Nadine Dorries

• Changes have not gone far enough.
• There is very little point in replacing a party
  which used to predominantly have MPs who were
  white, male barristers with 2.4 children and a
  Labrador from the south of England.. There is no
  point replacing them just simply with women who
  are of the same profile

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Twinning Constituencies (Scotland and Wales)

• Introduced by labour in first Scottish parliament
  and Welsh assembly elections in 1999
• twin constituencies to allow both women and men
  to stand for election
• the members of the two constituencies select
  candidates together
• woman with the highest number of votes selected
  to stand for one constituency and the man with
  the highest number of votes selected for the other

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Use of Top-Up Seats (Scotland and Wales)

• Introduction of top-up or party lists where
• alternate female and male candidates on party
  lists (zipping) Labour in Wales
• Place women at the upper-end of party lists
  (Liberal Democrats in Scotland)

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Under-Representation of Women in GB

• Although over 51 of Population are
• Significantly under-represented across
• All decision-making bodies
• Including the House of Commons

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WOMEN MPS (WESTMINSTER)
Note There are 646 members of the House of
Commons Source Campbell and Lovenduski, 2005.
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WOMEN MPs (WESTMINSTER)
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WOMEN MPS (SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT N129)
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WOMEN MPS (NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WALES)
Note There are 60 members of the Welsh Assembly.
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WOMEN MPs (EQUIVALENTS) IN EUROPE
NOTE RANKED 14 AMONG THESE EUROPEAN NATIONS AND
51 OF 184 COUNTRIES LISTED BY THE
INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION
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Explanatory models for the representational
weakness of women

• Socialisation model
• Situational factors
• Voter stereotypes and discrimination
• Process of legislative recruitment

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Socialisation model

• One of the first explanations proposed by
  political scientists
• Rests on the assumption that during childhood men
  and women learn
• different set of behavioural patterns and
  attitudes which are deemed appropriate for the
  sex/gender
• girls learn traditional female values of
  nurturing and caring
• boys learn to be competitive and aggressive
• Key point girls and boys internalise these
  values and see them as natural and inevitable
• so values that are considered appropriate for
  women are considered inappropriate for politics
• Thus, both women and men consider women
  unsuitable for politics hence, politics is an
  exclusively male domain

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More recent research questions these assumptions

• 1. Decline in traditional sex-role attitudes and
  behaviour
• appropriate models for male and female behaviour
  undergone dramatic change since the 1970s
• women no longer expected to be passive and
  nurturing
• traditional sex-role stereotyping also in decline
• hence, many of the characteristics believed
  suitable for political life now found among women
• 2. Research has found no difference between male
  and female children in relation to
• - political interest and knowledge
• - no evidence to support sex-role stereotyping
  among children
• Thus socialisation theory not an adequate
  explanation

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Situational factors

• Argues that the lack of female political
  representation due to structural or situational
  factors
• lesser educational achievement and occupational
  involvement
• childcare responsibilities
• Recent research refutes this
• similar education levels among men and women
• rapid growth in female employment
• fastest growth in employment has been among
  married women with young children
• Thus situational factors not an adequate
  explanation

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Voter stereotypes and discrimination

• Key explanation is that the electorate will not
  vote for women
• reinvention of socialisation explanation under a
  different guise
• Recent research disputes this assumption
• women and men equally in favour of female
  representation
• in many cases a female may be preferred
• Recent research by EOC in Britain found
• Turnout higher in constituencies where female
  candidate
• both men and women more likely to support a
  female candidate
• Hence, whatever the reasons for female lack of
  representation
• voter bias is not one of them
• Survey after survey in Britain show that not only
  does the electorate support the idea of more
  women
• They should be encouraged to stand for parliament

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Process of legislative recruitment

• Current explanation for the under-representation
  of women
• Basic assumption party selection committees both
  directly and indirectly discriminate against
  female candidate. How?
• Not only fail to select female candidates but if
  do, are adopted for the most
• problematic seats
• Are not selected as incumbents or inheritors
• but as challengers (fighting a seat held by
  another party)
• Is this the case?
• To answer this question need to investigate
  selection outcomes
• as well as the process of selection
• Much of the work in this area by Joni Lovenduski
  and Pippa Norris

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WOMEN CANDIDATES (WESTMINSTER)
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WOMEN CANDIDATES BY PARTY, 1992-2005
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WOMEN CANDIDATES BY TYPE OF SEAT AND PARTY, 2005
Source Campbell and Lovenduski
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WOMEN MPS ELECTED BY TYPE OF SEAT AND PARTY, 2005
Source Campbell and Lovenduski
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The Selection Process

• Two explanations for the lack of female
  representation in relation to the selection
  process
• 1. Women are discriminated against by local
  selection committees
• 2. lack of well-qualified women applicants
• known as the demand (selectors discriminate)
  versus the supply (women not apply) explanation
• Demand selectors choose candidates on the basis
  of stereotypes
• favour well-educated, professional men in early
  middle-age
• right sort of chap
• Supply social bias in parliament simply reflects
  the pool of applicants
• women absent
• not because discriminated against but because do
  not apply
• or might wish to apply but cannot do so because
  of resource limitations

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Which Explanation Correct?

• To assess these competing explanations need to
  compare the characteristics of
• mps, candidates, applicants, party members and
  voters
• MPs members of parliament
• Candidates individuals who are selected to
  stand for parliament
• Applicants on party lists individuals who put
  themselves forward for selection
• Party members rank and file and those involved
  in the selection process
• Voters general electorate
• This is what Lovenduski and Norris did using data
  from the British candidate study of 1992

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How assess the explanation?

• If demand explanation correct (selectors
  discriminate) major difference in the
  characteristics of applicants versus candidates
• If supply explanation correct (women not come
  forward) difference between the characteristics
  of party members versus applicants

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Major Findings of the Study

• MPs were not demographically representative of
  the British public in terms of the following
  race, education, class, age and gender
• Parliament dominated by the professional
  chattering classes - well educated/high
  income/professional jobs
• Argues this is not because of discrimination
  against applicants (demand) but due to the
  available pool of applicants (supply) willing to
  stand for parliament

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Results

• Found that within each party, the socio-economic
  status of mps, candidates and applicants were
  almost identical
• Main difference was between these groups and
  party members
• hence supports the supply-side explanation in
  that main difference is between applicants and
  members
• not demand explanation as no difference between
  candidates and applicants

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Gender results

• Not as clear-cut
• Supply more important for Conservatives
• Demand Greater role for Labour

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Gender Differences
Source Lovenduski and Norris (1995 117).
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More recent research

• Increasing importance of demand factors
• Direct (gender-discriminatory questions asked)
  and indirect (ideas of what count as a good MP)
  discrimination in selection process
• See Lovenduski (2005)