Lecture 4 Readings Flashcards
MPs as outsiders
Most of the MPs surveyed considered themselves to be political outsiders even though they were generally highly involved in their communities
MP’s motivations for running and saying yes to the nomination
MP’s motivations were far more varied than expected
MPs on the nomination process
Few MPs described the nomination process consistently
MPs and previous political experience
- 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
previous jobs of MPs
- 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
triggers of MP’s interests in politics
- 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
MP’s median age of entering politics
- The median age at which MPs entered public life was 47
- Most already had a well-established career and had raised a family
what were the most common ways that people were asked to run for MP?
- 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
MPs and interest in the public square
Most future MPs had spent years taking an active interest in the proverbial public square
MPs becoming political insiders
- 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
the nomination procedure as a black box
it is a system whose purpose is known but whose inner workings cannot be easily seen or understood
intervention in the nomination process
Sometimes, riding associations and the leader of the national party intervene to bestow support on a favoured candidate
MPs on the negative aspects of the nomination process
- Most MPs found the nomination process particularly challenging
- They often found the rules confusing (sometimes contradictions between the party and national rules)
MPs on the positive aspects of the nomination process
- It was a practice round for the actual election
- It helped challenge and polish the contender’s views
gender parity
roughly equal numbers of women and men in political office
women’s electorial representation since the 1990s
After significant increases in the 1980s, women’s electoral representation has stagnated since the mid-1990s
state of research about the presence of women in municipal government
Research about the presence of women in municipal governance, the Senate, and the territories has barely begun
Thomas’ three distinct periods of evolution of the works on women in politics in the U.S.:
- First women elected
- Electoral project that may have been driven by feminism
- Considerations about substantive representation
Early explanations for the lack of women in politics
- 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
the goal of the feminist electoral project
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
critical mass
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
Erickson, 1997 on female candidates’ support of women
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
Norris’ model
addresses obstacles to women’s success by dividing the pathway to political power into four steps:
- Eligibility (available to women)
- Recruitment (not always available to women)
- Selection (not always available to women)
- Election (not always available to women)
Tahon’s view on the political exclusion of women
maternity is at the core of the political exclusion of women
MacIvor’s view on the political exclusion of women
there is a low presence of women in politics because of three key factors:
- The public-private split
- The gendered division of labour in the home and the workplace
- The negative impacts of parenthood
mainstream political parties on feminine canditates
The Conservatives and Liberals tend to favour candidates whose features correspond more to masculine socialization and roles
high positions and women
The higher the positions, the fewer women fill them
high turnover rate of MPs and women
high turnover rates for MPs favoured the election of women
impact first-past-the-post on women
The first-past-the-post voting system poses obstacles for women because parties can only present one candidate per riding
how are women disadvantaged in their campaigns?
Women running for office are further disadvantaged by campaign financing and treatment by the media
Bashevkin on the political power of women
- 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
careers length of female leaders vs male leaders
Female leaders’ careers are shorter than men’
likelihood of election and female leaders
Male leaders are more likely to achieve greater electoral victory
impact of female leaders on female voters
Selecting a female leader may attract female electors, offering parties the potential to strengthen their electoral base of support
visible minority women in politics
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
under what conditions do women change policies that affect women?
- Feminist consciousness
- Role within the legislature
- Party affiliation
- Parliamentary procedure
men’s role in government worldwide
Men predominate government in more than 90% of countries, including Canada
prevalence of female MPs
- In 2012, only 25% of MPs were women
- There has not been a significant increase since then
legitamacy of democracy and women’s representation
iThe legitimacy of democratic institutions is challenged by the scarcity of women in elected office
how can we achieve gender parity?
with awareness, public education, advocacy, affirmative action measures, and political will
