Does the Descriptive Representation of Gender Influence Accountability for Substantive Representation?

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (02) ◽  
pp. 175-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Edward Jones
Keyword(s):  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Gender Influence

THE INFLUENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ON CONGRESS

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-135
Author(s):  
Charles Tien ◽  
Dena Levy
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
House Floor ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIn this paper we approach, from a different angle than previous research, the question of whether gains in descriptive representation for African Americans result in losses in substantive representation. By looking at how the presence of African Americans has changed Congress over time, we assess the long-term impact of electing more African Americans to Congress on substantive representation. Specifically, we content analyze House floor debates on civil rights legislation, from 1957 to 1991, and find that Black members have influenced how White members talk about civil rights.

Conclusion

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher F. Karpowitz ◽  
Tali Mendelberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
Subordinate Group ◽  
Different Types

This concluding chapter discusses how scholars have established the utility of different types of representation for disadvantaged groups. Descriptive representation refers to the physical presence of a social group in the setting of decision making. Substantive representation occurs when the concerns, values, sensibilities, or interests of that group are expressed, acted upon, and ultimately influence the outcome in some way. Symbolic representation is defined as the notion that the group is capable of governing, that its exercise of power is legitimate. The book's findings suggest an additional type of representation. In order to obtain substantive and symbolic representation, a subordinate group requires that the conditions of discussion provide the group with authoritative representation.

10. Gender and Democratization

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Paxton
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women's Suffrage ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Women’S Suffrage

This chapter examines the role of gender in democracy and democratization. It first considers how gender figures in definitions of democracy, noting that while women may appear to be included in definitions of democracy, they are often not included in practice. It then explores women’s democratic representation, making a distinction between formal, descriptive, and substantive representation. Women’s formal political representation is highlighted by focusing on the fight for women’s suffrage, whereas women’s descriptive representation is illustrated with detailed information on women’s political participation around the world. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of women in recent democratization movements around the world.

22. Women in the House of Commons

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Campbell ◽  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Elizabeth Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Demand Model ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Political Recruitment ◽  
Supply And Demand Model

This chapter examines the progress of women's participation and representation in the House of Commons. It first considers women's descriptive representation in the House of Commons over the last century, with emphasis on the differences in the proportion of women Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the main political parties. It explains improvements in the numbers of women MPs in the last decade or so, together with the party asymmetry, by reference to the supply and demand model of political recruitment. It then reviews arguments for women's equal participation in politics, taking into account how women's descriptive representation intersects with symbolic and substantive representation. It also discusses resistance to the claim that women's representation matters and concludes with an analysis of the masculinized nature of the political institution that women MPs inhabit, along with the recommendations made in the 2016 The Good Parliament report.

10. Gender and Democratization

2018 ◽  
pp. 158-170
Author(s):  
Pamela Paxton ◽  
Kristopher Velasco
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women's Suffrage ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Women’S Suffrage

This chapter examines the role of gender in democracy and democratization. It first considers how gender figures in definitions of democracy, noting that while women may appear to be included in definitions of democracy, they are often not included in practice. It then explores women’s democratic representation, making a distinction between formal, descriptive, and substantive representation. Women’s formal political representation is highlighted by focusing on the fight for women’s suffrage, whereas women’s descriptive representation is illustrated with detailed information on women’s political participation around the world. Finally, the chapter discusses the role of women in recent democratization movements around the world.

Gender Politics and Conservatism: The View from the British Conservative Party Grassroots

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Webb ◽  
Sarah Childs
Keyword(s):  
Gender Issue ◽  
Gender Politics ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Significant Support

AbstractCan conservatives be feminists? This article examines the issue by exploring the case of the British Conservative Party, drawing on a new survey of party members. Under David Cameron's leadership, reforms have been made to the party's parliamentary selection procedures and distinct women's policies developed, thus addressing both the descriptive and substantive representation of women. We examine party members' attitudes towards three types of gender issue: basic orientations towards gender roles and relations; specific policy measures relevant to the substantive representation of women; and the descriptive representation of women. Detailed empirical analysis reveals that there is significant support for progressive liberal feminist positions on each of these dimensions in the party, and that sex, age and basic ideological dispositions drive such attitudes to varying degrees. Even so, support for a liberal feminist position on the descriptive representation of women – that is, the aspect of gender politics where the leadership has been most active – remains on the whole quite limited.

Women's Substantive Representation in Decline: The Case of Democratic Failure in Hungary

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (02) ◽  
pp. 240-261
Author(s):  
Gabriella Ilonszki ◽  
Adrienn Vajda
Keyword(s):  
Extended Period ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Democratic Failure

AbstractThe substantive representation of women has attracted limited attention in cases in which women are present in politics in small numbers over an extended period of time. This article aims to fill this gap by focusing on two policy episodes in a postcommunist state where female descriptive representation has remained low and static and the regime's democratic backlash can also be observed. The two analytical questions refer to the agency and regime aspects of women's substantive representation under unfavorable conditions. Who is representing women under these conditions, and where and how is their representation taking place? How do the regime's characteristics explain the evolving representation patterns? The article will first argue that the same descriptive representation levels can imply different substantive representation patterns in terms of both actors and space. Second, by reconnecting descriptive representation and substantive representation, the article demonstrates that the decline of a regime's democratic credentials is detrimental to female substantive representation.

Experience, Knowledge, and Political Representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Peter Allen
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Shared Experience ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Strategic Implication

Abstract Evidence suggests that increasing the descriptive representation of groups improves their substantive representation. What underpins this link? Many scholars writing on the subject stop short of arguing explicitly that it is “shared experience” within groups. I argue that we should embrace the potential conceptual and empirical benefits of framing representation through experience. To do this, we should think of experience specifically in terms of the epistemic content and capacities gained through subjective experience, which can allow individuals to think about the world in distinct ways. I reframe the idea that experiences might be shared within groups and ameliorate concerns that the concept is essentialist, drawing out the political relevance of my argument. This has the strategic implication that we should be unafraid to argue in favor of political presence on the basis of (shared) experience and the empirical implication that future research should consider subjective experience more closely.

Women in Kyrgyzstan—Electorally Marginalized but Legislatively Influential: A Theory of Transactional Activism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Michele E. Commercio
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Nongovernmental Organizations ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
The State ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
Domestic Violence Legislation

Abstract How can we understand the signing of legislation targeting violence against women in postcommunist countries where women are electorally marginalized? Although women are underrepresented in Kyrgyzstan, the country's parliament has passed bride theft and domestic violence legislation. This article proposes a theory of transactional activism: in postcommunist countries where women are electorally marginalized, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can instigate legislative change if the state satisfies three necessary conditions permitting lateral links between NGOs working on behalf of women and vertical links between these nonstate actors and critical actors in parliament. The state must (1) establish a regulatory framework for NGO activity permitting the articulation and representation of women's interests; (2) demonstrate a rhetorical commitment to improving women's lives; and (3) facilitate the election to parliament of critical actors sympathetic to women's interests. In other words, women's substantive representation can occur without strong descriptive representation in the formal legislative arena if the state satisfies these conditions.

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