Critical Mass Theory and Women's Political Representation

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 725-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Childs Sarah ◽  
Lena Krook Mona
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Gender And Politics ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Subsequent Research ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
The Relationship

In studies of women's legislative behaviour, the concept of critical mass is widely used and, more recently, criticised as a tool for understanding the relationship between the percentage of female legislators and the passage of legislation beneficial to women as a group. In this research note, we revisit classic contributions by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Drude Dahlerup and outline and discuss their assumptions regarding anticipated connections between numbers and outcomes. We find that later gender and politics scholars have often misconstrued their work, with crucial implications for subsequent research on relations between the descriptive and substantive representation of women. We argue that clarifying the theoretical origins of the critical mass concept is crucial for forging a more coherent and cumulative research agenda on women's political representation.

What Drives Women’s Substantive Representation in Muslim-Majority Countries? Lessons from Turkey

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292094813
Author(s):  
Alper T. Bulut
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force Participation ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Gender And Politics ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship

Although a voluminous literature has studied the substantive representation of women, these studies have largely been confined to advanced democracies. Similarly, studies that focus on the relationship between Islam and women’s rights largely ignored the substantive representation of women in Muslim-majority countries. As one of the first studies of its kind, this article investigates the role of religion in the substantive representation of women by focusing on a Muslim-majority country: Turkey. Using a novel data set of 4,700 content coded private members’ bills (PMBs) drafted in the Turkish parliament between 2002 and 2015, this article synthesizes competing explanations of women’s representation in the Middle East and rigorously tests the implications of religion, ideology, critical mass, and labor force participation accounts. The results have significant implications for the study of gender and politics in Muslim-majority countries.

Analysing Women's Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Mona Lena Krook
Keyword(s):  
Critical Mass ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
Traditional Approaches

AbstractThis article makes a case for rethinking traditional approaches to the study of legislative behaviour on behalf of women by asking (1) not when women make a difference, but how the substantive representation of women occurs; and (2) not what ‘women’ do, but what specific actors do. The first shift aims to explore the contexts, identities and attitudes that motivate and inform substantive representation. The second seeks to move beyond a focus on female legislators to identify the ‘critical actors’, male and female, who may attempt to represent women as a group. In so doing, this framework calls attention to how structure and agency interact in the substantive representation of women.

When Do Female MPs Represent Women’s Interests? Electoral Systems and the Legislative Behavior of Women

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 834-847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Höhmann
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Legislative Behavior ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
German Bundestag ◽  
Mixed Electoral System

Research on women’s political representation has repeatedly shown that female legislators represent women’s interest more strongly than their male colleagues. However, a growing body of literature shows that the parliamentary behavior of female members of parliament (MPs) and the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women is affected by a number of institutional variables. This paper contributes to this debate by analyzing the effect of the electoral incentive structure on the substantive representation of women. Drawing on the Competing Principals Theory, it is expected that female legislators more frequently act on behalf of women if their re-election does not depend on the representation of local interests in electoral districts. The empirical analysis uses the German mixed electoral system and analyzes the representation of women’s issues in oral and written parliamentary questions tabled in the German Bundestag between 2005 and 2013. The results of a hurdle regression model show that female MPs are more likely to concentrate on the representation of women’s interests if their re-election is secured and if they do not have to fight for additional local votes from their district.

scholarly journals Do Women Need Women Representatives?

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Campbell ◽  
Sarah Childs ◽  
Joni Lovenduski
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Election Study ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Mass Attitudes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mass Level

This article analyses the relationship between the representatives and the represented by comparing elite and mass attitudes to gender equality and women’s representation in Britain. In so doing, the authors take up arguments in the recent theoretical literature on representation that question the value of empirical research of Pitkin’s distinction between substantive and descriptive representation. They argue that if men and women have different attitudes at the mass level, which are reproduced amongst political elites, then the numerical under-representation of women may have negative implications for women’s substantive representation. The analysis is conducted on the British Election Study (BES) and the British Representation Study (BRS) series.

Electoral Systems and the Substantive Representation of Marginalized Groups: Evidence from Women’s Issue Bills in South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110282
Author(s):  
Yesola Kweon ◽  
Josh M. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Representation Systems ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
The Relationship

How do electoral rules shape the substantive representation of traditionally underrepresented groups? Using an original dataset of introduced and passed bills in the Korean National Assembly, which has both single-member districts and proportional representation, we examine the extent to which institutions condition the relationship between lawmaker gender and the substantive representation of women. While women lawmakers engage in higher levels of substantive representation of women, proportional representation allows both women and men to introduce more women’s issue bills than their counterparts elected through single-member districts. Furthermore, legislators elected through proportional representation are more effective at achieving passage of women’s issue legislation when compared with those elected in single-member districts, and this effect is especially pronounced for men. Our findings show that electoral systems matter for the representation of marginalized groups and that proportional representation systems allow both female and male politicians to increase their substantive representation of women.

scholarly journals The Grit in the Oyster? Women’s Parliamentary Organizations and the Substantive Representation of Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 618-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Allen ◽  
Sarah Childs
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Substantive Representation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

This article addresses a foundational question of political representation: how do representatives act for those they represent? In a shift away from analyses of individual representatives’ attitudes and behaviour, we identify Women’s Parliamentary Organizations as potential critical sites and critical actors for women’s substantive representation. Offering one of the most in-depth studies to date, our illustrative case is the long-standing UK Parliamentary Labour Party’s Women’s Committee. With a unique data set, and using both quantitative and qualitative methods, we systematically examine the Parliamentary Labour Party’s Women’s Committee efforts to substantively represent women over more than a decade. We find that the Committee sustains its focus on a small number of women’s issues and interacts with party leadership to advance women’s interests in a feminist direction. Our findings capture processes of political change, a frequently under-explored stage in studies of substantive representation. We close by identifying the potential for comparative research in this area.

Urban and Rural Ridings and Women in Provincial Politics in Canada: A Research Note on Female MLAs

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary F. Moncrief ◽  
Joel A. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Female Legislators ◽  
Political Party Affiliation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Provincial Politics ◽  
Over Time

AbstractSeveral previous studies have noted that women constitute a relatively small proportion of provincial legislators in Canada. Numerous explanations for this phenomenon exist, most of which are identified clearly by Brodie, Bashevkin, Burt and others. In this research note, the authors examine the relationship between the proportion of female legislators and the urban/rural nature of the electoral district. They find that there is a distinct difference in the proportion of female legislators who represent urban districts compared to rural districts. This urban-rural disparity exists regardless of political party affiliation. Moreover, the gap appears to be widening over time.

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