2. The Substantive Representation of Gender Equality: Using Pitkin’s second way of substantive representation to steer clear of the problems embedded within the concept of women’s interests
2016 MPSA Conference, PhD. student Mette Marie Stæhr Harder University of Roskilde, Denmark Department of Social Science and Business

3. Today, two very central concepts within the field that looks into gender and parliamentary representation:
Women Descriptive Representation (How many females?)
Women Substantive Representation (How are women’s interests represented?)
Both concepts are developed on the basis of Pitkin (1967) “The Concept of Representation”
Today, two concepts are very central within the field on Politics and Gender that looks into representation within parliaments:
Women Descriptive Representation (How many females?)
Women Substantive Representation (How are women’s interests represented)

4. Today, two concepts are very central within the field that looks into gender and parliamentary representation:
Women Descriptive Representation (How many females?)
Women Substantive Representation (How are women’s interests represented?)
Both concepts are developed on the basis of Pitkin (1967) “The Concept of Representation”
Today, two concepts are very central within the field on Politics and Gender that looks into representation within parliaments:
Women Descriptive Representation (How many females?)
Women Substantive Representation (How are women’s interests represented)

5. Problems facing scholars who set out to measure the representation of women’s interests
What are women’s interests? Assumes “a universal women”, but she does not exists.. Can we talk of just two genders - as if they are there, given from above? Do they have different interests?

6. Solutions of the field:
Stick to the concept of women’s interests and theorize substantive representation as “representation of someone’s interests”, referring to Pitkin.
Be very concerned with how to define and measure these interests, stress the research designs etc.
But the overall problems persist: Scholars still struggle with problems caused by the notion of “women’s interest” and how to solve these (Celis et all, 2008 and 2014, Celis and Childs, 2014)

7. Another solution is possible:
If we reopen Pitkin we will see that her concept of substantive representation is not just acting for the interests of someone (of a group). It is dual concept, linked to a dual understanding of interests: • An interest can be the interest of someone, it belongs to someone or to a group of people. • An interest can exist unattached to specific people – it belongs to no one, people may participate in an interest.

8. Pitkin´s notions of interests and the type of substantive representation each notion generates in the thoughts of Madison and Burke
Acting for attached interests (Madison)
Acting for unattached interests (Burke)
Interest characteristics:
Interests are attached to a group or a faction of individuals
Interests are unattached. Individuals can participate in an interest.
Level of conflict:
High. Focus on power relations
Low. Focus on deliberation
Input needed for MPs to represent
interests:
Knowledge of individual’s subjective opinions
Knowledge of people’s feelings, as they exist objectively
Political goal of representatives:
To win the power contest, “politics is the realm of pressures and opinion”
To reach the best decision, “politics is the realm of knowledge and reason”
Classical view of the representative-constituency relation:
Mandate perspective
Interdependence perspective
Source: Author

9. Other Solution:
Let’s use Pitkin’s concept of unattached interests – her “second way” of substantive representation
The interest of Gender Equality is unattached.
Only, in specific interpretations of gender equality, does this interest work.

10. Two ideal types on how to conceive of Substantive Representation of Gender Equality
Substantive Representation of Gender Equality from a Radical Feminist perspective
Substantive Representation of Gender Equality from the perspective of New Liberal Feminism
Recognition of interests
Objectivity: The interests which people participate in can be established objectively
Subjectivity: Only the individual can establish which interest he or she will participate in
Potential critical actors
We expect women to participate in the substantive representation of gender equality
There is no way of knowing who will participate in the substantive representation of gender equality
Expected line of conflict
Women > < Men
People who participate in the interest of gender equality > < people who do not participate in the interest of gender equality (but participate in the interest of preserving family values, keeping society as it is etc.)

11. In sum:
In order to steer clear of the problems embedded within the notion of “women’s interests” we may think about using Pitkin’s second way of substantive representation (representation of unattached interests) and combining this with a perspective of gender equality that does not assume any essentialist notions about gender. Thank you