Beyond the Usual Suspects: Non-Left, Male and Non-Feminist MPs and the Substantive Representation of Women

Abstract

The focus on female MPs and leftist and feminist issues in traditional studies of women's substantive representation has supported the overall conclusion that women, feminists and left-wing parties promote women's interests in parliament. But our analysis of the ‘critical actors’ in women's substantive representation in 10 European countries confirms this finding only to a certain extent. Our inductive research design reveals an important group of less obvious actors: non-left, non-feminist and male MPs. That they speak out on behalf of women points to the necessity of revisiting our theories on women's substantive representation.

When Do Men Represent Women’s Interests in Parliament? How the Presence of Women in Parliament Affects the Legislative Behavior of Male Politicians

“…This idea deviates from the notion that female MPs are the only actors in the substantive representation of women and emphasizes that men can also be critical actors who “act individually or collectively to bring about women‐friendly policy change” (Childs and Krook : 127). Some initial studies of male MPs’ behavior buttress the importance of a broader research scope and an explicit analysis of the role of male MPs in the representation of women’s interests: In an analysis of the 2008‐11 PartiRep survey data, Celis and Erzeel () revealed that almost equal proportions of male and female MPs spoke on behalf of women in their respective parliamentary party group (PPG) meetings. In a study of British MPs’ voting behavior and debate contributions, Evans () showed that a few male MPs represented women’s concerns in their debate contributions.…”

“…Celis and Erzeel (: 60) pointed out that beyond the sole description of the extent to which male MPs act as critical actors in the substantive representation of women, it is even more important to “examine under what institutional, political and discursive conditions they can both participate and contribute to a responsive process in representing women’s interests”. One important factor in this regard is the question whether male MPs’ legislative behavior is affected by the presence of an increasing number of women in the parliament: Contrary to the expectations of critical mass theory (Dahlerup ; Kanter ), an increasing number of female MPs does not always result in a more intense substantive representation of women’s issues (e.g.…”

“…B€ ack et al 2014;Campbell et al 2009;Childs and Withey 2004;Swers 2002;Thomas 1991;W€ angnerud 2000), others find that female MPs do not always show strong commitments to the representation of women-specific interests and that the differences between men and women are often very small or even totally absent (Childs and Krook 2009;H€ ohmann 2019). Since the linkage between descriptive and substantive representation appears to be rather probabilistic than deterministic (Dodson 2006), several authors have suggested that we should rethink the substantive representation of women and that we should move beyond analyzing only female MPs' behavior and the questions of how and when women represent the interests and preferences of their female constituents (Celis and Erzeel 2015;Celis et al 2008;Childs and Krook 2008;2009;Grey 2006;H€ ohmann 2019;Mackay 2008). If we want to paint a complete picture of the substantive representation of women as such, Krook (2008, 2009) recommend moving the "analytical focus from the macro to the micro level, replacing attempts to discern 'what women do' to study 'what specific actors do'" (Childs and Krook 2008: 734).…”

Whose ideas are worth spreading? The representation of women and ethnic groups in TED talks

“…In that regard, the substantive representation of groups can be connected to and affected by descriptive representation, but not necessarily so. Often, it is believed that a 'critical mass' or 'critical actors' can be sufficient (MacDonald and O'Brien 2011; see also Celis and Childs 2008;Celis and Erzeel 2015). Group members are more likely to be substantively represented by people that look alike and have similar needs.…”

Sell-Outs or Warriors for Change? A Comparative Look at Rightist, Political Women in Democracies

“…So far, many of these studies are single-case studies such as the Christian Democratic Party in Germany Wiliarty 2010), the Republican Party in the United States (Crowder-Meyer and Cooperman 2018; Kitchens and Swers 2016;Och and Shames 2018), or the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom (Annesley and Gains 2014;Childs and Webb 2012;Childs, Webb, and Marthaler 2009). Comparative studies looking across countries are relatively rare; those that exist typically compare rightist parties across one region only or across one specific party family (Campbell and Erzeel 2018;Celis and Erzeel 2015;Erzeel and Celis 2016).…”