Women, Gender, and Politics

N21 - Gender and Party Politics

Date: Jun 14 | Time: 03:30pm to 05:00pm | Location: 680 Sherbrooke St. West 391

Chair/Président/Présidente : Erin Tolley (Carleton University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Anna Esselment (University of Waterloo)

Are Political Exits Gendered?: Rebecca Wallace (St. Francis Xavier University), Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant (Queen's University)
Abstract: Research on women’s representation in legislatures around the world has long focused on obstacles that women face entering the political sphere, producing a robust account of the gendered barriers impeding women’s recruitment, nomination, and election as legislators. Relatively little research, however, has examined women’s exits from politics, including the timing of, reason for, and framing of their departures from political life. Entrance is important for descriptive and substantive representation, but so too are exits, especially if women’s careers end earlier than men’s and contribute to a leaky pipeline to senior leadership; if their exits are pushed or encouraged by gatekeepers or colleagues; or if public discourse about their exits is unduly critical, gendered, or interpreted as a reflection on women’s political viability or effectiveness more generally, for example. Highly negative or gendered exits might also have demobilizing effects on girls and young women by sending a message that women are less welcome or valued in politics. Our paper will address the following questions: do women politicians leave office earlier than their men colleagues or for different reasons? When women depart, how is this framed in media and public debate compared to men’s departures? This paper presents a preliminary descriptive analysis of the patterns that emerge from these questions using an original dataset on legislators’ careers and departures from politics from 1974-2021, covering six decades and starting when women MPs were tokens in the House of Commons.

Falling off the Glass Cliff? Women Ministers, Crises and Press Coverage: Clémence Deswert (Université libre de Bruxelles)
Abstract: In October 2021, the Belgian federal government – a coalition government involving seven parties – become the first government with a parity in terms of gender at this level of power in the country. Women have been appointed to traditionally male-dominated ministers such as the Ministries of Defense, the Interior and Foreign Affairs. Although these women seem to have broken the glass ceiling, their ministerial mandates were marked by the management of delicate moments, and even multiple crises such as the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis that followed or the refugee crisis, which attracted extensive media coverage. The situation echoes the “glass cliff” phenomenon, defined as the idea that women are nominated at leadership positions when organizations face difficult times, and the risk of failure is higher (Ryan and Haslam 2007; Bruckmüller & Branscombe 2010; Ryan et al. 2011). Furthermore, some women have resigned from government, either because of decisions or declarations considered as political errors or for “personal” reasons. Several of these women were young politicians with no ministerial experience. These circumstances constitute a privileged opportunity for the study of the gendered coverage of politicians holding executive positions in proportional electoral system. Using quantitative textual analysis assisted by a textometry software and qualitative discourse analysis, this paper analyzes how the Belgian Francophone press covered ministerial leadership, with a focus on sensitive events such as crisis moments and resignation episodes.

Risen to the Top, but put at a Disadvantage: Examining the Role of Career Capital in Gendered Party Leaders’ Political Survival: Clint Claessen (University of Basel)
Abstract: The literature on women party leaders has produced important findings regarding the challenges women face, both getting elected to the highest party office and staying on while there. This article adds to this understanding by examining the political experience, i.e. the career capital, that women party leaders bring with them to these positions. Using original data from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland since the first women party leader entered office (1976-2023), I find a gender gap in political survival and examine inequality in career capital as a potential explanation for women's shorter tenures. I build upon the literature about gendered political resources by arguing that unequal opportunity structures within parties give rise to gender differences in career capital, even for those who reach the highest political party position. In addition, I find evidence that women party leaders with average or below average career capital face harsher standards and that youth wing capital potentially hurts right-wing women party leaders. More favourably, the gender gap in career capital is shrinking for the more recent cohort of leaders.

What’s the Consensus on Women Candidates?: Women’s Representation in Northern Canadian Politics: Chris Yurris (McGill University)
Abstract: In Canada, the notion that parties act as electoral gatekeepers for political candidates is well understood, especially when it comes to women. When parties are not actively recruiting women to run for politics, they are less likely to do so. Even at the municipal level, where parties are typically absent, we still see a gender gap in running for political office. But how important are political parties to the recruitment of women? The Canadian territories offer a unique opportunity to garner further insight into the role of political parties in the recruitment process, with provincial/territorial politics in the NWT and Nunavut following a consensus model of government. By contrasting the two territories to the Yukon’s partisan territorial legislature – where local parties are present, we are able to directly compare the impact that parties have on women’s representation versus when they are absent. Our preliminary findings suggest that more women both run for office and win in the Yukon, where parties are present, further cementing the notion that parties are key actors in women’s representation. Additionally, our analysis includes an overview of the territories' distinct histories of political development and demographic differences that have contributed to the opposing developments within their electoral frameworks. In doing so, we seek to fill in a major gap within the Canadian political science literature – the lack of research addressing Northern politics, while also utilizing a new dataset covering Canadian territorial elections from 1974 to 2021.