Entering the men's domain? Gender and portfolio allocation in European governments

Abstract

While all government portfolios used to be the purview of men exclusively, more and more women are selected to sit around the cabinet table. But under which circumstances do women get appointed to different ministerial portfolios? This article, proposes a theoretical framework to consider how party leaders’ attitudes and motivations influence the allocation of portfolios to male and female ministers. These propositions are tested empirically by bringing together data on 7,005 cabinet appointments across 29 European countries from the late 1980s until 2014. Considering the key partisan dynamics of the ministerial selection process, it is found that women are significantly less likely to be appointed to the ‘core’ offices of state, and ‘masculine’ and ‘neutral’ policy areas. However, these gender differences are moderated by the ideology of the party that allocates them. Women are more likely to be appointed to ‘masculine’ portfolios when a party's voters have more progressive gender attitudes. This theoretical framework and analysis enhances our understanding of women's access to the government, which has important implications for how ministers are selected, as well as how women are represented in the most powerful policy‐making positions in Europe.

The 2021 federal German election: A gender and intersectional analysis

“…In contrast, the FDP assigned only one woman (Stark-Watzinger) to the less powerful education and research portfolio while two men (Lindner, Buschmann) occupy powerful cabinet positions (finance, justice), and the third man (Wissing) the ‘masculine’ technology and traffic portfolio. This confirms our expectation that progressive gender attitudes among parties and their voters affect portfolio allocation (Goddard, 2019). Simultaneously, the traditional ‘pink portfolios’ remain: women head portfolios such as women and family affairs, environment and consumer protection, and education.…”

“…Thus, in the 2021 election campaign, Merkel served as a role model against which all candidates were measured. Also, the allocation of women ministers to more ‘masculine’ portfolios is important in symbolic terms and studies illustrate this is more likely when parties and their voters have more progressive gender attitudes (Goddard, 2019). Thus, we can expect that this will also play out in the new German government.…”

It's a Long Way to the Top: Women's Ministerial Career Paths

“…Even though women's overall proportions in the governments of developed democracies have increased considerably over the last few decades, women ministers in charge of the most prestigious (i.e., pivotal, resourceful, and visible) positions still remain an exception. While most women receive responsibility for portfolios such as family or social affairs, health, or justice, very few receive responsibility for ministerial portfolios such as finance, economy, interior, or foreign affairs (Escobar-Lemmon and Taylor-Robinson 2009; Goddard 2019a; Krook and O'Brien 2012). If women make it to the top, their way to the most prestigious executive positions appears to be particularly long: Brigitte Zypries (Germany) served as minister of justice for seven years before becoming minister of economy; Paula Risikko (Finland) occupied various government positions as minister of environment, social affairs, and transport over a span of eight years before she received the ministry of interior; and Marie-Josée Jacobs (Luxembourg) was in charge of portfolios such as family, integration, and humanitarian affairs for a total of 15 years before being selected as minister of international cooperation.…”

Representation and Ministerial Influence on Cabinet Committees in Canada

“…Trimble and Tremblay (2005: 39) confirm this in assessing federal and provincial ministers from 1917 to 2002. In a study of 29 European countries, Goddard (2019a) also shows that while women are less likely to be appointed to “high salience” and traditionally “masculine” or “neutral” policy responsibilities, the effect is moderated by party ideology. Jacob et al (2014), while finding that gender equality norms are associated with ministerial appointment, also show a significant degree of “tokenism,” in that it is low-prestige posts that are most strongly impacted by norm diffusion.…”