politics of gender Flashcards
why are men dominant in political sphere?
- biasedness against females as leaders - perception of men and women
- conflicting gender and political roles - docile vs aggressive, can’t be either or neither
- traditions and culture - men as the head, women as carework
- mindset of society - older gen follow more traditional mindset
- society not open to change
- educational levels - men were more educated previously so they easily entered politics
- women got to vote at a later stage - men vote first, join first, stay longer
what benefits do women bring to politics?
- representation
- different perspectives
- better, peaceful outcomes
- better use of talent pool
- more innovation with more diversity
- increase in work quality - govern better, less corruption
- positive influence on policies
- insights and perspectives of family issues based on experiences
- dispels stereotypes - empowers other females to join politics
- more democratic with better representation
- can win elections if constituencies prefer females
- role model effect
how to get women in politics?
- advocacy
- educating society
- changing views of party - not patriarchal anymore
- gender quota for senior positions
- having women on selection commitees
- women led events
- reserved seats
- put women in local elections
- increase party magnitude
- more parties
- give funding to parties that meet certain limit
- programs to reach out to women interested in politics
- methods to join politics more equitable
why women should be in politics?
- involves decision making that help others in their individual choices
- have the power to enforce decisions
- position of authority
justice arguments
- formal representation
: having legal rights to participate in politics on an equal basis with men
: barriers to entry removed
: right to vote and right to stand
: having women representation makes gov more receptive to the interests of most women - descriptive representation
: similarity between representatives and constituencies (microcosm view)
: better to represent their interests themselves because others might not do it as well
: but then not enough to reach that equal participation because women feel detered from entering due to past events
: also just because they CAN pursue office, it doesn’t mean they are willing to - can be because they lack the resources and skills - substantive representation
: requires politician to speak for and act to support women’s issues
: the question of can women represent women
1. sometimes they might not be willing to act for others who are not of the same class or religion
2. they might be unable to act because they are expected to conform to the men
3. they might be in the right wing who are not open to such equality compared to left wing who are more open to it
utility arguments
- usefulness of having women in politics
: improves quality of deliberation
: expands pool of talent
: overall diversity and innovation - role models
: aspirations
** must note that exclusion of certain grp might make others of that grp feel that they are not fit to rule; e.g minority groups not being elected might make them feel like that
** need more women in parliaments so that even if they are minority they are a larger minority that can support each other
power and structural power relations
- visible, direct and explicit application of power
: focus on actual and observable behaviour, decision making and conflict - preventing preferences of others to reach agenda
: setting limit on the scope of decision making to include only certain issues
: controlling agenda thru agenda setting, influence, authority and manipulation - shaping preferences of others to match people in power
: control of information, mass media and socialisation to make people do what they don’t want and influence what they want
how is gender and patriarchy a social construct?
gender is a social construct because it is a cultural creation that gets passed on by generations through socialisation and we are taught these rules on how to behave based on our gender
patriarchy is the social system of men dominating women
and is characterised by men’s control of economic resources, domination of political process and positions of authority and entitlement to sexual services
and is a social construct because men and women are linked to unequal prestige and power, it didn’t come like that, people made it like that
what is intersectionality?
women have differential amounts of power based on factors such as religion, class, race and ethnicity. cannot catergorise all women into the same group because they face different struggles
first women in parliament and what are the changes made?
- jeanette rankin: denied entry into ww1, equal employment for women, reform working hours for women in the bureau of printing and engraving
- other first women supported their party more than the women’s cause
- even with women candidates, women voters voted for men
how do women enter politics?
- death of husband or father
- familial ties
- when party is failing they are asked to lead
- being from global south
- climbing through ranks
difficulties faced by women leaders
- conflict between gender and politician role
- stereotypes come into play
- leadership seen as masculine
- men viewed as more competent
- need work harder
- held to higher standards
what are the roles played by female candidates?
- incharge of health, education, family, environment all the soft soft type
- overrepresented in femine policy domain
how have quotas helped in female representation?
- helps within reserved seats but otuside of that not really
- helps with gender balance
- the possible cycle of poor representation in senior roles leading to low selection
can be broken. - people might think not on own merits
- removal of quota can cause numbers to drop drastically
non-quota seats need much more bigger change - quota implementation plays a part; informal vs formal: sg’s was informal of 30% made a difference so if it was formal would be even better
which parties have the most female representation
social democratic and left parties
