Lecture 4 Readings

Question 1

MPs as outsiders

Answer 1

Most of the MPs surveyed considered themselves to be political outsiders even though they were generally highly involved in their communities

Question 2

MP’s motivations for running and saying yes to the nomination

Answer 2

MP’s motivations were far more varied than expected

Question 3

MPs on the nomination process

Answer 3

Few MPs described the nomination process consistently

Question 4

MPs and previous political experience

Answer 4

• While most MPs had at least one prior experience we might equate with a politician, only a few had most or all of these experiences
• Most of the MPs interviewed were not raised in politics

Question 5

previous jobs of MPs

Answer 5

• They were pursuing a range of jobs:
• Most weren’t lawyers and hadn’t studied political science
• 25% were involved in education
• 10% had military experience

Question 6

triggers of MP’s interests in politics

Answer 6

• The triggers that ignited would-be-MPs interests in politics were often the result of chance rather than personal focus or ambition
• Several MPS recalled coming of age during the 1960s, when the assasinations of JKF and Martin Luther King made them realize that politcics matters

Question 7

MP’s median age of entering politics

Answer 7

• The median age at which MPs entered public life was 47
• Most already had a well-established career and had raised a family

Question 8

what were the most common ways that people were asked to run for MP?

Answer 8

• Being approached by a friend or acquaintance
• Being involved in one’s political party’s riding association
• Being close to or involved with a group designated to identify a candidate

Question 9

MPs and interest in the public square

Answer 9

Most future MPs had spent years taking an active interest in the proverbial public square

Question 10

MPs becoming political insiders

Answer 10

• All MPs demonstrated a willingness to take a tentative step toward becoming a political insider
• For some, this manifested as opposition and for others as identification elsewhere

Question 11

the nomination procedure as a black box

Answer 11

it is a system whose purpose is known but whose inner workings cannot be easily seen or understood

Question 12

intervention in the nomination process

Answer 12

Sometimes, riding associations and the leader of the national party intervene to bestow support on a favoured candidate

Question 13

MPs on the negative aspects of the nomination process

Answer 13

• Most MPs found the nomination process particularly challenging
• They often found the rules confusing (sometimes contradictions between the party and national rules)

Question 14

MPs on the positive aspects of the nomination process

Answer 14

• It was a practice round for the actual election
• It helped challenge and polish the contender’s views

Question 15

gender parity

Answer 15

roughly equal numbers of women and men in political office

Question 16

women’s electorial representation since the 1990s

Answer 16

After significant increases in the 1980s, women’s electoral representation has stagnated since the mid-1990s

Question 17

state of research about the presence of women in municipal government

Answer 17

Research about the presence of women in municipal governance, the Senate, and the territories has barely begun

Question 18

Thomas’ three distinct periods of evolution of the works on women in politics in the U.S.:

Answer 18

1. First women elected
2. Electoral project that may have been driven by feminism
3. Considerations about substantive representation

Question 19

Early explanations for the lack of women in politics

Answer 19

• Political parties were reluctant to select women candidates in competitive ridings
• The media depicted female politics as actors belonging mainly to the private sphere
• Gender socialization and female gender roles did not encourage women to think of themselves as political beings

Question 20

the goal of the feminist electoral project

Answer 20

to increase the presence of women in Canadian politics and to use women’s presence in governing institutions to change and improve women’s living conditions

Question 21

critical mass

Answer 21

if there are more women in politics, they will be in a better position to move the process of public decision-making in a direction that is favourable to the interests of women

Question 22

Erickson, 1997 on female candidates’ support of women

Answer 22

found that female candidates were significantly more likely than male candidates to support the election of more women MPs and to favour the implementation of measures to remediate gender imbalances

Question 23

Norris’ model

Answer 23

addresses obstacles to women’s success by dividing the pathway to political power into four steps:

1. Eligibility (available to women)
2. Recruitment (not always available to women)
3. Selection (not always available to women)
4. Election (not always available to women)

Question 24

Tahon’s view on the political exclusion of women

Answer 24

maternity is at the core of the political exclusion of women

Question 25

MacIvor’s view on the political exclusion of women

Answer 25

there is a low presence of women in politics because of three key factors:

1. The public-private split
2. The gendered division of labour in the home and the workplace
3. The negative impacts of parenthood

Question 26

mainstream political parties on feminine canditates

Answer 26

The Conservatives and Liberals tend to favour candidates whose features correspond more to masculine socialization and roles

Question 27

high positions and women

Answer 27

The higher the positions, the fewer women fill them

Question 28

high turnover rate of MPs and women

Answer 28

high turnover rates for MPs favoured the election of women

Question 29

impact first-past-the-post on women

Answer 29

The first-past-the-post voting system poses obstacles for women because parties can only present one candidate per riding

Question 30

how are women disadvantaged in their campaigns?

Answer 30

Women running for office are further disadvantaged by campaign financing and treatment by the media

Question 31

Bashevkin on the political power of women

Answer 31

• characterizes the current situation as women + power = discomfort
• This means that no woman is good enough to be a public leader or no normal woman would ever want to be powerful

Question 32

careers length of female leaders vs male leaders

Answer 32

Female leaders’ careers are shorter than men’

Question 33

likelihood of election and female leaders

Answer 33

Male leaders are more likely to achieve greater electoral victory

Question 34

impact of female leaders on female voters

Answer 34

Selecting a female leader may attract female electors, offering parties the potential to strengthen their electoral base of support

Question 35

visible minority women in politics

Answer 35

The assumption that visible minority women are less likely to be elected than white women is challenged by recent data on women’s election to the House of Commons

Question 36

under what conditions do women change policies that affect women?

Answer 36

• Feminist consciousness
• Role within the legislature
• Party affiliation
• Parliamentary procedure

Question 37

men’s role in government worldwide

Answer 37

Men predominate government in more than 90% of countries, including Canada

Question 38

prevalence of female MPs

Answer 38

• In 2012, only 25% of MPs were women
• There has not been a significant increase since then

Question 39

legitamacy of democracy and women’s representation

Answer 39

iThe legitimacy of democratic institutions is challenged by the scarcity of women in elected office

Question 40

how can we achieve gender parity?

Answer 40

with awareness, public education, advocacy, affirmative action measures, and political will