Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:16:06.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Studying Political Representation: A Comparative-Gendered Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2010

Mona Lena Krook
Mona Lena Krook
Affiliation:
Washington University in St. Louis. E-mail: mlkrook@wustl.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

How does a comparative politics of gender improve our understanding of political representation? I map the existing feminist literature on this topic, which asks questions like why there are so few women elected to political office, whether women in politics represent women as a group, and how the presence or absence of women in politics affects voter perceptions and opinions. I then consider how scholars—both feminist and non-feminist—might generate new insights on political representation by expanding what is thought of as a “case” and what is meant by the term “gender.” I recommend increasing the scope of comparison by (1) opening up the definition of a case to include a broader range of units and events and (2) connecting the study of a single unit to patterns generated by the study of other similar units. I suggest moving away from equating women with gender by exploring (1) relations between women and men and (2) the impact of masculinities and femininities on the conduct of political life. While developed in relation to research on representation, this approach offers broader advice for capturing the diverse and gendered nature of political dynamics observed around the world.

Type
Symposium
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 233 - 240
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atkeson, Lonna Rae. 2003. Not All Cues Are Created Equal: The Conditional Impact of Female Candidates on Political Engagement. Journal of Politics 65 (4): 1040–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Edith J. 1995. The Policy Priorities of African American Women in State Legislatures. Legislative Studies Quarterly 20 (2): 223–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beckwith, Karen. 1992. Comparative research and electoral systems: Lessons from France and Italy. Women & Politics 12 (1): 1–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A. 2005. Critical Mass Theory Revisited: The Behavior and Success of Token Women in State Legislatures. Politics & Gender 1 (1): 97–125.Google Scholar
Bystydzienski, Jill M. 1995. Women in Electoral Politics: Lessons from Norway. Westport: Praeger.Google Scholar
Carroll, Susan J., ed. 2001. The Impact of Women in Public Office. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Carroll, Susan J. 2002. Representing Women: Congresswomen's Perceptions of Their Representational Roles. In Women Transforming Congress, ed. Rosenthal, Cindy Simon. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Caul, Miki. 1999. Women's Representation in Parliament: The Role of Political Parties. Party Politics 5 (1): 79–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celis, Karen, Childs, Sarah, Kantola, Johanna, and Krook, Mona Lena. 2008. Rethinking the Substantive Representation of Women. Representation 44 (2): 99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, Louise. 2002. Gendering Government: Feminist Engagement with the State in Australia and Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Childs, Sarah. 2004. New Labour's Women MPs: Women Representing Women. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah, and Krook, Mona Lena. 2006. Should feminists give up on critical mass? A contingent yes. Politics & Gender 2 (4): 522–530.Google Scholar
Cowley, Philip, and Childs, Sarah. 2003. Too Spineless to Rebel? New Labour's Women MPs. British Journal of Political Science 33 (3): 345–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowley, Jocelyn Elise. 2004. When Tokens Matter. Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (1): 109–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darcy, R., Welch, Susan, and Clark, Janet. 1994. Women, Elections, & Representation. 2d ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Dodson, Debra, and Carroll, Susan J.. 1991. Reshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislature. New Brunswick: Center for American Women and Politics.Google Scholar
George, Alexander L., and Bennett, Andrew. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Gerring, John. 2004. What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good For? American Political Science Review 98 (2): 341–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goetz, Anne Marie, and Hassim, Shireen, eds. 2003. No Shortcuts to Power: African Women in Politics and Policy Making. New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Haas, Liesl. 2005. “Inter-Governmental Relations and Feminist Policymaking in Latin America.” Presented at the International Studies Association Annual International Convention, Honolulu, HI, March 5–8.Google Scholar
Hawkesworth, Mary. 2003. Congressional Enactments of Race-Gender: Toward a Theory of Raced-Gendered Institutions. American Political Science Review 97 (4): 529–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkesworth, Mary. 2006. Gender as an Analytic Category. In Feminist Inquiry: From Political Conviction to Methodological Innovation. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
High-Pippert, Angela, and Comer, John. 1998. Female Empowerment: The Influence of Women Representing Women. Women and Politics 19 (4): 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Norris, Pippa. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, Pia. 2001. “Strategic Predictors of Women's Parliamentary Participation: A Comparative Study of Twenty-Three Democracies.” Ph.D. Diss. University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Karp, Jeffrey A., and Banducci, Susan A.. 2008. When Politics Is Not Just A Man's Game: Women's Representation and Political Engagement. Electoral Studies 27 (1): 105–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawless, Jennifer L. 2004. Politics of Presence? Congresswomen and Symbolic Representation. Political Research Quarterly 57 (1): 81–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni, ed. 2005. State Feminism and Political Representation. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matland, Richard E. 1995. How the Election System Structure Has Helped Women Close The Representation Gap. In Women in Nordic Politics: Closing the Gap, ed. Karvonen, Lauri and Selle, Per. Brookfield, VT: Dartmouth.Google Scholar
Matland, Richard E. 1998. Women's Representation in National Legislatures: Developed and Developing Countries. Legislative Studies Quarterly 23 (1): 109–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAllister, Ian, and Studlar, Donley T.. 2002. Electoral Systems and Women's Representation: A Long-Term Perspective. Representation 39 (1): 3–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonagh, Eileen. 2002. Political Citizenship and Democratization: The Gender Paradox. American Political Science Review 96 (3): 535–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nanivadekar, Medha. 2006. Are Quotas a Good Idea? The Indian Experience with Reserved Seats for Women. Politics & Gender 2 (1): 119–28.Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa, and Franklin, Mark. 1997. Social Representation. European Journal of Political Research 32 (2): 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohlander, Ann-Sofie. 2001. Mina herrar! Mansrepresentationen i Sveriges riksdag. In Rösträtten 80 år. Forskarantologi, ed. Jönsson, Christer. Stockholm: Justitiedepartementet.Google Scholar
Paxton, Pamela. 1997. Women in National Legislatures: A Cross-National Analysis. Social Science Research 26 (4): 442–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reingold, Beth. 2000. Representing Women: Sex, Gender and Legislative Behavior in Arizona and California. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Rosenbluth, Frances, Salmond, Rob, and Thies, Michael F.. 2006. Welfare Works: Explaining Female Legislative Representation. Politics & Gender 2 (2): 165–92.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, Diane. 1993. The Politics of Increased Women's Representation: The Swedish Case. In Gender and Party Politics, ed. Lovenduski, Joni and Norris, Pippa. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, Diane. 2004. Women's Political Representation in Sweden: Discursive Politics and Institutional Presence. Scandinavian Political Studies 27 (1): 65–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanbonmatsu, Kira. 2003. Gender-Related Political Knowledge and the Descriptive Representation of Women. Political Behavior 25 (4): 367–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saward, Michael. 2006. The Representative Claim. Contemporary Political Theory 5 (3): 297–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A., and Mishler, William. 2005. An Integrated Model Of Women's Representation. Journal of Politics 67 (2): 407–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michelle L. 2002. The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamerius, Karen L. 1995. Sex, Gender, and Leadership in the Representation of Women. In Gender Power Leadership and Governance, ed. Duerst-Lahti, Georgia and Kelly, Rita Mae. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Thomas, Sue. 1991. The Impact of Women on State Legislative Policies. Journal of Politics 53 (4): 958–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Sue. 1994. How Women Legislate. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Towns, Ann. 2003. Understanding the Effects of Larger Ratios of Women in National Legislatures: Proportions and Gender Differentiation in Sweden and Norway. Women & Politics 25 (1–2): 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vengroff, Richard, Nyiri, Zsolt, and Fugiero, Melissa. 2003. Electoral System and Gender Representation in Sub-National Legislatures: Is There a National-Sub-National Gender Gap? Political Research Quarterly 56 (2): 163–73.Google Scholar
Welch, Susan, and Studlar, Donley T.. 1990. Multi-Member Districts and the Representation of Women. Journal of Politics 52 (2): 391–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2002. Beyond Bodies: Institutional Sources of Representation for Women in Democratic Policymaking. Journal of Politics 64 (4): 132–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolbrecht, Christina, and Campbell, David E.. 2007. Leading by Example: Female Members of Parliament as Political Role Models. American Journal of Political Science 51 (4): 921–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoon, Mi Yung. 2004. Explaining Women's Legislative Representation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (3): 447–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zetterberg, Pär. 2009. Do Gender Quotas Foster Women's Political Engagement? Lessons from Latin America. Political Research Quarterly 62 (4): 715–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar