Do Women Represent Women in France? The Case of Brittany's Regional Council

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the policies of the regional council of Brittany, France to determine whether the recent dramatic increase in the number of female officeholders resulted in an increase in women's substantive representation. I question whether the number of women-friendly policies rose after the number of female officeholders increased and if so, whether this increase is attributable to the sheer number of female councilors or to something else. I find that the number of women-friendly policies in Brittany increased when women held a majority of regional council seats, but that these policies were primarily due to the critical acts of certain male and female officeholders operating within a specific regional, national, and international political context.

Does Gender Have an Effect on the Selection of Experts by Parliamentary Standing Committees? A Critical Test of “Critical” Concepts

“…Taking the latter into account, for example, Studlar and McAllister's research design appears somewhat far-fetched, inasmuch as in their role as parliamentarians (versus their role as party activists), women MPs hardly play a direct role in the recruitment of more women into politics. Moreover, as both Kanter and Dahlerup observed, attitudes toward female politicians and political culture may serve as intervening variables (see also Childs 2006, 154; Opello 2008). On the basis of these observations, therefore, we should test the recruitment hypothesis in empirical cases where women (either as politicians or in other influential positions) have a direct and explicit role in “recruiting” or selecting more women to various positions.…”

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

“…But the difference elected women, feminists and leftist parties make is not necessarily ‘a drastic one’ (Tremblay 1998: 440) as it often depends on opportunities offered by the institutional environment and the activism of individual MPs. Several recent studies have also pointed to the lacunae in our knowledge of the contributions of ‘non-traditional’ actors such as men (Celis 2006; Opello 2008) and conservative parties (Childs and Webb 2012; Evans 2011; Wiliarty 2010). Although they are less likely to do so, these non-traditional actors also represent women's interests.…”