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Conservative Women in Germany and Japan: Chancellors versus Madonnas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2019

Alisa Gaunder  and
Sarah Wiliarty
Alisa Gaunder
Affiliation:
Southwestern University
Sarah Wiliarty
Affiliation:
Wesleyan University
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Abstract

Despite many similarities between them, the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have represented women in parliament at different rates. This article argues that differences in party organization, electoral system rules, and left party strength interact to explain the varying levels of representation of conservative women in parliament. The CDU's corporatist structure allowed it to represent diverse interests and successfully respond to challenges for female support from the left. As a result of a weaker left party challenge and a classic catch-all party organization, the LDP's attempts to incorporate women have been less extensive and largely symbolic.

Keywords

CDULDPfemale representationJapanGermany
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Symposium on Women's Parties , March 2020 , pp. 99 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

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