Mobilization of Women and Minorities

Gender Differences in Political Attitudes and Engagement Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have shown that women are not as efficacious or as politically engaged as men. Does political context matter? Would the presence of more women in politics reduce the differences between men and women?

The Importance of Political Context Implicit message from lack of women in national parliaments: Politics is a man’s world “The fact that politics is a man’s world has sufficient consequences for women’s psychological engagement with politics to account for gender differences in orientations to politics that facilitate participation.” -Burns, Schlozman and Verba (2001, p356) Female candidates may serve as role models Female candidates may also suggest favorable policies (see Burns, et al. 2001)

Contextual Effects of Descriptive Representation Empirical evidence that ethnic/racial descriptive representation can “empower” citizens by sending signal about the responsiveness of government (e.g. Bobo and Gilliam 1990; Banducci and Karp 2004, etc.) Similar arguments could be made about the presence of women in politics (see especially Burns, Schlozman and Verba 2001, ch. 13).

Knowledge and Engagement Gender gap in recognizing leaders smaller for Margaret Thatcher than male leaders More men could identify Chetrien than Campbell, but reverse was true for women. (Burns, Schlozman and Verba, p 341) Women also more psychologically engaged when women are on ballot.

Other activities More likely to persuade when women candidates present (Hansen 1997) Female candidate affect recall of candidate’s name, mentions of campaign issues and correctly identifying campaign themes for women (Kahn and Kenney 1999, pp. 187-97). Evaluations of presidential candidates: women more supportive of Clinton when woman congressional candidate present (Sapiro and Conover, 2000, p 516)

Women’s Representation Evidence more mixed when looking at women’s representation rather than female candidates Female descriptive representation has positive effect on women’s (not men’s) political trust but for those with moderate levels of political interest (Ulbig 2004). Using Eurobarometer data Burns, Schlozman and Verba (2001) find no evidence that the % of women in parliament influences engagement (p 349) But limited sample of countries and only bivariate analysis

Gender Differences

Gender Differences

Institutions and Descriptive Representation Electoral systems are assumed to influence descriptive representation; Institutions can both help or exclude certain groups from the political process PR increases the representation of women via party lists and (possibly) minorities Special accommodations may also help to facilitate representation Reserved seats (quotas) for women and minorities Lower thresholds Gerrymandering (for minority representation)

Expectations: Engagement and Support Differences in political support between men and women will be greatest when representation of women is low Special accommodations for women’s representation will minimize differences between men and women

Conditioning Factors Political Awareness Ideology Women with higher levels of education more likely to be influenced by descriptive representation Ideology Elected women more likely to come from parties on the left

Approach Cross-National Approach Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), Module 2 (2001 -2006) Total of 29 countries Advantages (and disadvantages)

Measures of Political Engagement Here is a list of things some people do during elections. Which if any did you do during the most recent election: talked to other people to persuade them to vote for a particular party or candidate? showed your support for a particular party or candidate by, for example, attending a meeting, putting up a poster, or in some other way?

Past Behaviour Over the past five years or so, have you done any of the following things to express your views about something the government should or should not be doing? Q21a. contacted a politician or government official either in person, or in writing, or some other way? Q21b. taken part in a protest, march or demonstration? Q21c. worked together with people who shared the same concern?

Political Attitudes Satisfaction with the Process Responsiveness How satisfied are you with the way democracy works in your country? Responsiveness Thinking about how elections in [country] work in practice, how well do elections ensure that the views of voters are represented by majority parties: very well, quite well, not very well, or not well at all?

Summary of Findings Quotas Women’s Representation Differences consistent on some attitudes and persuasion. Although women are less likely than men to try to persuade others, the use of quotas appears to minimize the difference Women’s Representation Differences consistent on satisfaction with democracy; Citizens are likely to be more satisfied when National legislatures have a greater proportion of women; Moreover, the differences between men and women are minimized. However there appears to be no impact on political engagement

Concluding Remarks Overall the results provide a mixed picture Limitations in Approach Measures Spurious relationships Endogeneity Future plans Look at specific party quotas and ideological placement Explore ideology and education interactions Code for female party leaders Control for other contextual variables, ie. women in the labor force, Left governments, etc.