Men Idle, Women Network: How Networks Help Female Legislators Succeed

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Wojcik ◽  
Shawnna Mullenax
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Piscopo

Jennifer M. Piscopo examines how the crisis of representation in Costa Rica has placed a ceiling on gender equality in representation. The restructuring of the Costa Rican party system and party fragmentation has made electing multiple candidates from any one ballot more difficult. Top spots have become even more prestigious and more likely to be allocated to men, which reduces women’s electoral chances. Corruption scandals, party breakdown, citizen frustration, and economic problems tainted the administration of the nation’s first female president, Laura Chinchilla. Female legislators have often worked to promote women’s issues and feminist policies, but Chinchilla eschewed feminism, even though several of her policies did benefit women. Overall, her failed presidency may create difficulties for other women seeking top political offices and could have negative consequences for views of women in politics. These challenges notwithstanding, Piscopo concludes that Costa Rica remains at the vanguard of women’s political representation in Latin America.


Author(s):  
Daniel L. Hicks ◽  
Joan Hamory Hicks ◽  
Beatriz A. Maldonado

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Kostanca Dhima

Abstract Do elites exhibit gender bias when responding to political aspirants? Drawing on theories of gender bias, group attachment, and partisan identity, I conduct the first audit experiment outside the United States to examine the presence of gender bias in the earliest phases of the political recruitment process. Based on responses from 1,774 Canadian legislators, I find evidence of an overall gender bias in favor of female political aspirants. Specifically, legislators are more responsive to female political aspirants and more likely to provide them with helpful advice when they ask how to get involved in politics. This pro-women bias, which exists at all levels of government, is stronger among female legislators and those associated with left-leaning parties. These results suggest that political elites in Canada are open to increasing female political representation and thus should serve as welcome encouragement for women to pursue their political ambitions.


1999 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Brian Veronda

Since 1995, states have played an increasingly active role as regulators of managed care health plans. However, there is little consistency from state to state in the laws that govern managed care plans. This paper analyzes this inconsistency within the framework of the economic and political theories of regulatory choice. An empirical model is developed to test whether these theories can explain the presence of two laws regulating women's access to obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs). The results suggest that these theories together do help to clarify why certain states enacted the regulations. The regulations were more likely to be present in states with a relatively high number of OB/GYNs and female legislators, and Democratic control of government.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Mia Costa

Abstract Citizens hold gender-specific stereotypes about women in political office, yet scholars disagree on whether these stereotypes lead to a “double bind” in which female legislators are held to higher standards than male legislators. Two survey experiments reveal how citizen evaluations of elite responsiveness to constituent mail are conditioned by gender and sexist attitudes. The findings suggest that a double bind does exist in legislator–constituent communication, even among people who have positive views of women. For instance, although the least sexist respondents favor communication from female legislators regardless of the quality of communication, they also punish women, but not men, for taking longer to respond to constituent mail. Male legislators are also more likely to be rewarded for being friendly as respondents’ sexism increases, but female legislators do not enjoy the same advantage, likely due to gender stereotypes and expectations regarding women's behavior.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Lotte Hargrave ◽  
Tone Langengen

Abstract It has long been claimed in the gender and politics literature that male and female legislators have different communication styles. The evidence for this claim has come mostly from interviews with legislators as the key informants on gendered differences. We contribute to this literature in two ways: First, we empirically examine speeches by Members of Parliament to establish whether gendered differences are observable in parliamentary debates. Second, we advance existing measurement approaches by testing for multiple dimensions of communication style, providing a more systematic approach to studying gendered speech behavior. Communication style is examined through a content analysis of almost 200 speeches in three parliamentary sessions of the British House of Commons. We find compelling evidence for differences in communication style: women evidence arguments with personal experience, discuss policies in a concrete way, and are less adversarial than men. Our findings have important implications for how political communication styles might improve public engagement with politicians, offer a different focus to the discussion, and improve democratic legitimacy.


1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 831-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary F. Moncrief ◽  
Joel A. Thompson

AbstractSeveral previous studies have noted that women constitute a relatively small proportion of provincial legislators in Canada. Numerous explanations for this phenomenon exist, most of which are identified clearly by Brodie, Bashevkin, Burt and others. In this research note, the authors examine the relationship between the proportion of female legislators and the urban/rural nature of the electoral district. They find that there is a distinct difference in the proportion of female legislators who represent urban districts compared to rural districts. This urban-rural disparity exists regardless of political party affiliation. Moreover, the gap appears to be widening over time.


Author(s):  
Erin Heidt-Forsythe

This chapter explores and analyzes the role of partisan women in leadership and in setting agendas around the politics of egg donation at the state level. Given the ways that reproductive health, medicine, and family have been strongly associated with leadership and representation by female legislators in U.S. politics, this chapter explains and analyzes the diverse and complex roles of women in politics on egg donation politics and policymaking. This chapter provides the first comprehensive study of egg donation politics at the state level over time (1995–2010), and it connects the divergent policy strategies around egg donation in reproduction and research to the diverse and varied roles of partisan women in state politics.


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