Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-08T09:54:46.673Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

“Righting” Conventional Wisdom: Women and Right Parties in Established Democracies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2018

Diana Z. O'Brien
Diana Z. O'Brien*
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Parties are the key actors shaping women's representation in advanced parliamentary democracies. Based on traditional patterns of feminist organizing, conventional wisdom suggests that parties of the left are the strongest advocates for women. Despite the prevalence of this claim, a burgeoning body of work indicates that parties on the right can—and often do—seek to represent women. To address these competing narratives, this article offers the first large-N, party-level study of women's descriptive and substantive representation over place and time. The results suggest that party ideology continues to affect women's representation: right parties lag behind their left counterparts with respect to women's presence in elected office, and right and left parties address women differently on their platforms. At the same time, there is significant heterogeneity among right parties. Christian democrats, for example, are more likely than conservatives to adopt voluntary gender quotas and make policy claims on behalf of women. The traditional left-right distinction is thus too coarse to fully explain party behavior in these states.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 14 , Special Issue 1: Gender and Conservatism , March 2018 , pp. 27 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, James F., Clark, Michael, Ezrow, Lawrence, and Glasgow, Garrett. 2004. “Understanding Change and Stability in Party Ideologies: Do Parties Respond to Public Opinion or to Past Election Results?” British Journal of Political Science 34 (4): 589–610.Google Scholar
Arter, David. 1999. “Sweden: A Mild Case of ‘Electoral Instability Syndrome.’” In Changing Party Systems in Western Europe, ed. Broughton, David. London: Pinter, 143–62.Google Scholar
Arzheimer, Kai, and Carter, Elisabeth. 2006. “Political Opportunity Structures and Right-Wing Extremist Party Success.” European Journal of Political Research 45 (3): 419–43.Google Scholar
Ball, Stuart. 2013. Portrait of a Party: The Conservative Party in Britain 1918–1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Banaszak, Lee Ann, Beckwith, Karen, and Rucht, Dieter. 2003. “When Power Relocates: Interactive Changes in Women's Movements and States.” In Women's Movements Facing the Reconfigured State, eds. Banaszak, Lee Ann, Beckwith, Karen, and Rucht, Dieter. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1–29.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D. 2016. Gendering Legislative Behavior: Institutional Constraints and Collaboration. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Cassese, Erin C.. 2017. “American Party Women: A Look at the Gender Gap within Parties.” Political Research Quarterly 70 (1): 127–41.Google Scholar
Beaman, Lori, Chattopadhyay, Raghabendra, Duflo, Esther, Pande, Rohini, and Topalova, Petia. 2009. “Powerful Women: Does Exposure Reduce Bias?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 124 (4): 1497–1540.Google Scholar
Beckwith, Karen. 2000. “Beyond Compare? Women's Movements in Comparative Perspective.” European Journal of Political Research 37 (4): 431–68.Google Scholar
Beckwith, Karen, and Cowell-Meyers, Kimberly. 2007. “Sheer Numbers: Critical Representation Thresholds and Women's Political Representation.” Perspectives on Politics 5 (3): 553–65.Google Scholar
Bille, Lars. 2001. “Democratizing a Democratic Procedure: Myth or Reality? Candidate Selection in Western European Parties, 1960–1990.” Party Politics 7 (3): 363–80.Google Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., and Ray, Leonard P.. 2002. “Descriptive Representation, Policy Outcomes, and Municipal Day-Care Coverage in Norway.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (2): 428–37.Google Scholar
Bryson, Valerie, and Heppell, Timothy. 2010. “Conservatism and Feminism: The Case of the British Conservative Party.” Journal of Political Ideologies 15 (1): 31–50.Google Scholar
Campbell, Rosie, and Childs, Sarah. 2015. “‘What the Coalition Did for Women’: A New Gender Consensus, Coalition Division and Gendered Austerity.” In The Coalition Effect, 2010–2015, eds. Seldon, Anthony and Finn, Michael. New York: Cambridge University Press, 397–429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Rosie, and Lovenduski, Joni. 2005. “Winning Women's Votes? The Incremental Track to Equality.” Parliamentary Affairs 58 (4): 837–53.Google Scholar
Cassese, Erin C., Barnes, Tiffany D., and Branton, Regina P.. 2015. “Racializing Gender: Public Opinion at the Intersection.” Politics & Gender 11 (1): 1–26.Google Scholar
Cassese, Erin C., and Holman, Mirya R.. 2017. “Religion, Gendered Authority, and Identity in American Politics.” Politics and Religion 10 (1): 31–56.Google Scholar
Caul, Miki. 2001. “Political Parties and the Adoption of Candidate Gender Quotas: A Cross-National Analysis.” Journal of Politics 63 (4): 1214–29.Google Scholar
Celis, Karen. 2008. “Studying Women's Substantive Representation in Legislatures: When Representative Acts, Contexts and Women's Interests Become Important.” Representation 44 (2): 111–23.Google Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Childs, Sarah. 2012. “The Substantive Representation of Women: What to Do with Conservative Claims?” Political Studies 60 (1): 213–25.Google Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Childs, Sarah, eds. 2014. Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation. Colchester: ECPR Press.Google Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Erzeel, Silvia. 2015. “Beyond the Usual Suspects: Non-Left, Male and Non-Feminist MPs and the Substantive Representation of Women.” Government and Opposition 50 (1): 45–64.Google Scholar
Cheng, Christine, and Tavits, Margit. 2011. “Informal Influences in Selecting Female Political Candidates.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (2): 460–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah, and Webb, Paul. 2012. Sex, Gender and the Conservative Party: From Iron Lady to Kitten Heels. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Childs, Sarah, Webb, Paul, and Marthaler, Sally. 2010. “Constituting and Substantively Representing Women: Applying New Approaches to a U.K. Case Study.” Politics & Gender 6 (2): 199–223.Google Scholar
Conway, Martin. 2003. “The Age of Christian Democracy: The Frontiers of Success and Failure.” In European Christian Democracy: Historical Legacies and Comparative Perspectives, eds. Kselman, Thomas and Buttigieg, Joseph A.. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 43–67.Google Scholar
Cross, William P., and Blais, André. 2012. Politics at the Centre: The Selection and Removal of Party Leaders in the Anglo Parliamentary Democracies. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jennifer, Curtin. 2014. “Conservative Women and Executive Office in Australia and New Zealand.” In Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation, eds. Celis, Karen and Childs, Sarah. Colchester: ECPR Press, 141–60.Google Scholar
Dahlerup, Drude. 2007. “Electoral Gender Quotas: Between Equality of Opportunity and Equality of Result.” Representation 43 (2): 73–92.Google Scholar
Davidson-Schmich, Louise K. 2006. “Implementation of Political Party Gender Quotas: Evidence from the German Länder 1990–2000.” Party Politics 12 (2): 211–32.Google Scholar
Esaiasson, Peter. 2000. “How Members of Parliament Define Their Task.” In From Westminster to Congress and Beyond. The Nordic Experience, eds. Esaiasson, Peter and Heidar, Knut. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 51–82.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2008. “Gender Quotas and Women's Substantive Representation: Lessons from Argentina.” Politics & Gender 4 (3): 393–425.Google Scholar
Freidenvall, Lenita. 2003. Women's Political Representation and Gender Quotas: The Swedish Case. Stockholm: Department of Political Science, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Gallagher, Michael, Laver, Michael, and Mair, Peter. 2011. Representative Government in Modern Europe. 5th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Greene, Zachary, and Lühiste, Maarja. 2017. “Symbols of Priority? How the Media Selectively Report on Parties’ Election Campaigns.” European Journal of Political Research. Published online October 7. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12247.Google Scholar
Greene, Zachary, and O'Brien, Diana Z.. 2016. “Diverse Parties, Diverse Agendas? Female Politicians and the Parliamentary Party's Role in Platform Formation.” European Journal of Political Research 55 (3): 435–53.Google Scholar
Hinojosa, Magda. 2009. “‘Whatever the Party Asks of Me”: Women's Political Representation in Chile's Unión Demócrata Independiente.” Politics & Gender 5 (3): 377–407.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald. 1997. Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Jiménez, Antonia M. Ruiz. 2009. “Women and Decision-Making Participation within Rightist Parties in Portugal and Spain.” Análise Social 44 (191): 235–63.Google Scholar
Kantola, Johanna, and Saari, Milja. 2014. “Conservative Women MPs’ Constructions of Gender Equality in Finland.” In Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation, eds. Celis, Karen and Childs, Sarah. Colchester: ECPR Press, 183–208.Google Scholar
Kittilson, Miki Caul. 2006. Challenging Parties, Changing Parliaments: Women and Elected Office in Contemporary Western Europe. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Kittilson, Miki Caul. 2008. “Representing Women: The Adoption of Family Leave in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Politics 70 (2): 323–34.Google Scholar
Kittilson, Miki Caul. 2011. “Women, Parties and Platforms in Post-Industrial Democracies.” Party Politics 17 (1): 66–92.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena, and Norris, Pippa. 2014. “Beyond Quotas: Strategies to Promote Gender Equality in Elected Office.” Political Studies 62 (1): 2–20.Google Scholar
Kubicek, Paul. 2012. European Politics. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kunovich, Sheri, and Paxton, Pamela. 2005. “Pathways to Power: The Role of Political Parties in Women's National Political Representation.” American Journal of Sociology 111 (2): 505–52.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour, and Rokkan, Stein. 1967. Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives. Toronto: Free Press.Google Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni. 2005. State Feminism and Political Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni, and Norris, Pippa. 1993. Gender and Party Politics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni, and Norris, Pippa. 2003. “Westminster Women: The Politics of Presence.” Political Studies 51 (1): 84–102.Google Scholar
Mair, Peter, and Mudde, Cas. 1998. “The Party Family and Its Study.” Annual Review of Political Science 1: 211–29.Google Scholar
Mair, Peter, and Smith, Gordon. 1990. Understanding Party System Change in Western Europe. London: Frank Cass.Google Scholar
Mattson, Ingvar. 1995. “Private Members’ Initiatives and Amendments.” In Parliaments and Majority Rule in Western Europe, ed. Döring, Herbert. Frankfurt/New York: Campus/St. Martin's Press, 448–87.Google Scholar
Morgan-Collins, Mona. 2016. “Universal Suffrage and the Support for Parties with Redistributive Agendas: Evidence from 17 Western Countries.” PhD diss. London School of Economics.Google Scholar
Mudde, Cas. 2007. Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Murray, Rainbow. 2010. Parties, Gender Quotas and Candidate Selection in France. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Murray, Rainbow, and Sénac, Réjane. 2014. “Mapping ‘Feminist’ Demands across the French Political Spectrum.” In Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation, eds. Celis, Karen and Childs, Sarah. Colchester: ECPR Press, 231–50.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Diana Z. 2015. “Rising to the Top: Gender, Political Performance, and Party Leadership in Parliamentary Democracies.” American Journal of Political Science 59 (4): 1022–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, Diana Z., Mendez, Matthew, Peterson, Jordan Carr, and Shin, Jihyun. 2015. “Letting Down the Ladder or Shutting the Door: Female Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, and Cabinet Ministers.” Politics & Gender 11 (4): 689–717.Google Scholar
Paxton, Pamela, and Hughes, Melanie M.. 2015. “The Increasing Effectiveness of National Gender Quotas, 1990–2010.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 40 (3): 331–62.Google Scholar
Piccio, Daniela R. 2014. “A Complex Mediation of Interests: Party Feminisation Processes in the Italian Christian Democratic Party.” In Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation, eds. Celis, Karen and Childs, Sarah. Colchester: ECPR Press, 63–82.Google Scholar
Rashkova, Ekaterina R., and Zankina, Emilia. 2017. “Are (Populist) Radical Right Parties Männerparteien? Evidence from Bulgaria.” West European Politics 40 (4): 848–68.Google Scholar
Studlar, Donley T., and McAllister, Ian. 2002. “Does a Critical Mass Exist? A Comparative Analysis of Women's Legislative Representation since 1950.” European Journal of Political Research 41 (2): 233–53.Google Scholar
Thomson, Robert, Royed, Terry, Naurin, Elin, Artés, Joaquín, Costello, Rory, Ennser-Jedenastik, Laurenz, Ferguson, Mark, Kostadinova, Petia, Moury, Catherine, Pétry, François, et al. 2017. “The Fulfillment of Parties’ Election Pledges: A Comparative Study on the Impact of Power Sharing.” American Journal of Political Science 61 (3): 527–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, Manon. 1998. “Do Female MPs Substantively Represent Women? A Study of Legislative Behaviour in Canada's 35th Parliament.” Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique 31 (3): 435–65.Google Scholar
Tremblay, Manon, and Pelletier, Rejean. 2000. “More Feminists or More Women? Descriptive and Substantive Representations of Women in the 1997.” International Political Science Review/Revue internationale de science politique 21 (4): 381–405.Google Scholar
Van Hecke, Steven, and Gerard, Emmanuel. 2004. Christian Democratic Parties in Europe since the End of the Cold War. Leuven: Leuven University Press.Google Scholar
Verloo, Mieke. 2015. “Conservatism as an Anti-Feminist Force.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association Meeting, September 3–5, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Volkens, Andrea. 2002. Manifesto Coding Instructions. 2nd rev. ed. Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung.Google Scholar
Volkens, Andrea, Lacewell, Onawa, Lehmann, Pola, Regel, Sven, Schultze, Henrike, and Werner, Annika. 2011. “The Manifesto Data Collection.” Manifesto Project (MRG/CMP/MARPOR). Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozial for schung (WZB).Google Scholar
Wängnerud, Lena. 2000. “Testing the Politics of Presence: Women's Representation in the Swedish Riksdag.” Scandinavian Political Studies 23 (1): 67–91.Google Scholar
Wängnerud, Lena. 2005. Sweden: “A Step-wise Development.” In Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, eds. Ballington, Julie and Karam, Azza. Stockholm: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 238–48.Google Scholar
Wiliarty, Sarah Elise. 2010. The CDU and the Politics of Gender in Germany: Bringing Women to the Party. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Xydias, Christina V. 2007. “Inviting More Women to the Party: Gender Quotas and Women's Substantive Representation in Germany.” International Journal of Sociology 37 (4): 52–66.Google Scholar
Xydias, Christina V. 2013. “Mapping the Language of Women's Interests: Sex and Party Affiliation in the Bundestag.” Political Studies 61 (2): 319–40.Google Scholar
Young, Lisa. 2000. Feminists and Party Politics. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

O'Brien supplementary material

O'Brien supplementary material 1

Download O'Brien supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 523.2 KB