When Waves Collide: Cycles of Protest and the Swiss and American Women's Movements

Banaszak, Lee Ann

doi:10.1177/106591299604900409

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A few reasons can be mentioned for these developments (Linder , 60–2). First, although the Swiss women's movement was not generally weaker than its European and American counterparts (Banaszak , 840–41), it lost momentum after the unsuccessful push for women's suffrage in the 1920s. Moreover, like the women's movements of many other European countries (Beckwith , 446; Rucht , 261), it relied on education and referendum campaigns instead of more confrontational tactics that could have been more successful (Banaszak , 148–85).…”

Section: Women's Political Representation In Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Temporary Importance of Role Models for Women's Political Representation

Gilardi

2015

American J Political Sci

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

I n the last several decades, the political representation of women has improved sharply, thanks in part to the introduction of legislative quotas in many countries. At the same time, worldwide, only one in five members of parliament are female, on average, and even Nordic countries, with about 42% women in parliament, have yet to reach full gender equality in this area. There are many reasons for the underrepresentation of women in politics. Following an influential model of political recruitment (Norris 1997), women's representation is determined by the interaction between the supply of aspirants and the demands of gatekeepers, which are themselves shaped by the rules and procedures deriving from the legal, electoral, and party systems. Although both demand-and supplyside factors play an important role (Krook and SchwindtBayer 2013, 556; Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 2007, 266), one of the main reasons for the enduring gender gap in politics is that women are less likely to run for office than men (Lawless and Fox 2010). This is due in part to women's reluctance to stand as candidates, but also to the political and institutional context, which contributes to pulling women into or pushing women out of electoral Fabrizio Gilardi is Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland (gilardi@ipz.uzh.ch).I thank Maya Ackermann, Tom Koritschan, Sophie Nägeli, Thomas Schäubli, Nathalie Schreiber, and especially Olivier Baumann (who coordinated data collection and conducted most of the interviews) for excellent research assistance. I am grateful to Peter Moser for advice on persuading the municipalities to give us access to their archives and to Andrea Gisler for providing valuable information on the Frauenzentrale Zürich. politics (Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 2007, 268-71; Wängnerud 2009, 55).This article focuses on a specific aspect of the supply side of women's representation. It argues that the availability of role models could help to redress the gender gap by shaping the motivation of women to run for office. Many authors understand women's representation as a virtuous circle: As more women are elected to office, their political role becomes more accepted, such that more women will develop political ambitions and more female candidates will find support among voters (Wängnerud 2009, 54). Consistent with this view, the literature has shown that women's political attitudes and behavior are shaped by the gender of their representatives (Fox and Lawless 2004;Lawless and Fox 2010). This article elaborates on the idea that the political representation of women can be enhanced by the availability of role models, defined as successful female politicians with whom women can identify. Specifically, I argue that, on average, more women run for office if more women are elected to office in nearby jurisdictions in the previous election. The example of women who are successfully elected changes

show abstract

Section: Women's Political Representation In Switzerlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Temporary Importance of Role Models for Women's Political Representation

Gilardi

2015

American J Political Sci

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although both democratic theory and empirical evidence suggest that groups can achieve positive substantive policy representation through descriptive representation, some scholars have suggested that there may be a backlash, or negative reaction, as a politically marginal group achieves social, economic, or political gains (Blalock 1967;Bratton 2002;Cammisa and Reingold 2004;Studlar and McAllister 2002;Yoder 1991). For example, many researchers have argued that the women's movement, while accomplishing many significant goals in the 1970s, created a backlash of antiwoman, or at least antifeminist, sentiment in the 1980s (Banaszac 1996;Faludi 1991;Haas-Wilson 1993;Thomas 1994;Yoder 1991). In fact, Bratton (2002) found that an increase in the number of female state legislators is associated with a legislative backlash.…”

Section: Descriptive Representation and Backlashmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representation and Backlash: The Positive and Negative Influence of Descriptive Representation

Haider‐Markel

2007

Legislative Studies Qtrly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For this article, I built on previous studies of representation by exploring the potential positive and negative impacts of descriptive representation in the policy process. Specifically, I examined the influence of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) state legislators on the amount and types of LGBT‐related state legislation introduced from 1992 to 2002. My findings suggest that higher LGBT representation in state legislatures leads to greater substantive representation. The results also suggest, however, that descriptive representation is associated with the amount of anti‐LGBT legislation introduced. Additional analysis reveals that the net policy influence of increased LGBT representation is positive for the LGBT community.

show abstract

“…The so-called Brunner affair reverberated across the political stage, affecting women's descriptive representation in most of the political parties as well as their engagement and their substantive success. In the aftermath, women from “all political parties created a shadow council called the Frauenbundesrat , which demanded a 50% quota for Nationalrat seats” (Banaszak 1996, 853). By the 1995 election, women's membership in the Ständerat had doubled, and the SPS had adopted a 50% quota for female candidates.…”

Section: Swiss Politics and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Women's Movement Knocks on the Door: Theorizing the Strategy, Context and Impact of Frauen Macht Politik (FraP!) on Women's Representation in Swiss Politics

Cowell-Meyers

2019

Pol & Gen

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“Get up, stand up and live! That's a movement.” — Elisabeth Joris (Joris 2015b) Are women's parties effective? More than 50 women's parties have emerged since 1990 in countries all over the world, contesting and winning seats in local, national, and regional legislatures. Although women's parties are not infrequent, appear in a variety of contexts, and advance common agendas related to inclusion and equality, we know very little about their experiences or whether they have been able to achieve their goals. In this article, Frauen Macht Politik (FraP!) is examined to consider whether and how women's parties present an avenue for advancing women's movement goals. The evidence shows that forming a party can help the movement to set the public agenda, can increase the attention paid to their issues, and can influence the formal institutions of politics. Many variables neglected elsewhere in the literature shape the ability of niche parties to affect the commitments of more established parties: the nature of the small party; its composition, intent, reach, and resources; its institutional context; and the boundaries of the organization. These features also determine the extent to which women's movements can use a political party to influence the representativeness of a political system.

show abstract

When Waves Collide: Cycles of Protest and the Swiss and American Women's Movements

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

The Temporary Importance of Role Models for Women's Political Representation

The Temporary Importance of Role Models for Women's Political Representation

Representation and Backlash: The Positive and Negative Influence of Descriptive Representation

The Women's Movement Knocks on the Door: Theorizing the Strategy, Context and Impact of Frauen Macht Politik (FraP!) on Women's Representation in Swiss Politics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About