Lecture 7 Readings Flashcards
representation of women in canbinet
Despite recent parity cabinets, less than ⅓ of cabinet members at any level of government are women
common trajectory of women into party leadership
75% of women are selected directly to the premier’s office through a party leadership contest and sometimes lead their parties to majority mandates but then do not have the support to stay in office or to be re-elected
explanation for the trajectory of women into party leadership
- This may be because women are more likely than men to be selected to lead parties that are in crisis or decline
- However, half of Canadian cases cannot be explained by this
common trajectory of men into party leadership
- This is different than the pattern of male premiers
- Male premier’s path to provincial office is the norm
provincial government in Canada
- Provincial governments in Canada have a strong presence and considerable jurisdictional control
- There is an absence of institutional constraints that are found in other cabinet-parliamentary systems
what is the most important factor leading to the appointment of women to cabinet?
the proportion of women in the governing party
when are women more likely to serve as chief political executives?
when power is shared or constrained
do female-led governments promote women into cabinet?
not necessarily
stereotypes and women in politics
Gender stereotypes have negative effects on women’s ability to be directly elected to executive office
high-level positions and women
The higher the political office, the fewer women there are
when are women preferred over men as leaders?
when the crisis or decline was the result of men’s leadership failure
crisis and decline as an opportunity
Women may see crisis or decline as a means of gaining a leadership position that they otherwise might not have access to
crisis
an acute, intense, time-sensitive period of difficulty for a party or government
decline
a more gradual loss of support where a party is on an unfavourable electoral trajectory and may lose votes and seats in the election proceeding the leadership contest
identifying decline
- it’s more difficult to identify than a crisis
- operationalized in 5 ways
5 ways decline is operationalized
- The party’s performance in the election before a leader’s selection
- Party support stability
- By-election results
- Contributions to party finances
- Publicly available opinion polls
support for parties prior to selecting a woman as a leader
was stable or increasing
votes following the selection of a female party leader
Nearly every party that simultaneously selected a woman as party leader and premier lost votes in the election following her selection
year-to-year decline prior to the selection of a female party leader
No parties experienced consistent year-over-year declines in contributions in the three years prior to selecting women as leaders/premiers
financial contributors prior to the selection of a female party leader
Most parties posted declines in contributions prior to selecting women as leaders
tenure of female leaders vs. male leaders
Women heading major parties tended to have considerably shorter tenures as leaders
explanations for the greater representation of women in municipal politics compared to federal/provincial politics
- Local politics are easier to reconcile with family life
- The nature of municipal politics corresponds better to women’s concerns
- Municipal politics are less competitive
- The cost of municipal election campaigns is lower
- Female landowners were allowed to vote in municipal elections earlier than legislative elections
Tremblay and Mevellec on the greater representation of women in municipal politics
- The same obstacles that are present for women in federal and provincial politics are also present in municipal politics, especially in large cities
- Many of the explanations for the greater representation of women in municipal politics are essentialist and governed by traditional gender roles
voter perception of municipal politics in Canada
- The municipal level is often considered minor
- Voter turnout tends to be much lower than in federal and provincial elections
how are Canadian municipalities run?
by municipal councils, where members are elected in the first-past-the-post voting system by ward or city
feminization rate of Canadian politics
In general, municipal politics have a greater feminization rate
feminization rate
the proportion of women among a given group of politicians
recruitment
an individual’s capacity to submit their candidacy for a legislative or municipal position
profile of Canadian politicians
Canadian politicians, including municipal politicians, have a higher elitist profile in terms of their education and profession and have higher social capital
financing of municipal campaigns
Financing a municipal campaign is a major obstacle, especially in cities with a population of at least 10,000
encouragement of women to run for office
Women are less likely to receive encouragement to aspire to office than men are
Institutional factors responsible for the underrepresentation of women in Canada’s parliamentary spaces
- Political parties
- The voting system (first-past-the-post)
- The opportunity for re-election
Other factors suspected of playing a role in women’s underrepresentation in municipal politics
- The size of the locality
- The number of candidates per seat
