Hitting Glass Ceilings: The Representation of Women in Elected Office Jessica Fortin-Rittberger Inaugural Lecture 9 June 2015 1
If the world was a village of 100 people 2
Yet, parliaments of the world in 2015 Pacific Arab States Asia World Average 0 20 40 60 80 Sub-Saharan Africa Europe - OSCE Americas Nordic Countries Percent women Percent men Source: Inter parliamentary Union, gender distribution in Lower Houses of parliaments 3
Puzzle The House of Commons, Canada 4
Breaking down the arrow Candidate selection in context Political Culture & Societal Modernization Egalitarian or Traditional Attitudes Institutions: Electoral Laws Gender Quotas Reserved Seats Candidate Selection Procedures Supply of Candidates Gatekeepers (parties) Pool of Candidates Voters Representatives Figure: adapted from Norris 2004, p. 183 5
Breaking down the arrow Candidate selection in context Political Culture & Societal Modernization Egalitarian or Traditional Attitudes Institutions: Electoral Laws Gender Quotas Reserved Seats Candidate Selection Procedures Supply of Candidates Gatekeepers (parties) Pool of Candidates Voters Representatives Figure: adapted from Norris 2004, p. 183 6
Causes I: Structural Barriers Women s standing in society: traditional gender stereotypes lead to discrimination and structural disadvantage of women. Education, labor force participation. 7
Parliaments of Europe in 2015: Large differences in the representation of women Gender parity (50%) 0 20 40 60 Percent Women in parliament (lower house) Hungary Malta Romania Ireland Latvia Slovakia Czech Republic United Kingdom Greece Poland France Luxembourg Austria Italy Portugal Germany Slovenia Nertherlands Denmark Belgium Spain Iceland Finland Sweden Source: Inter parliamentary Union, gender distribution in Lower Houses of parliaments 8
Breaking down the arrow Candidate selection in context Political Culture & Societal Modernization Egalitarian or Traditional Attitudes Institutions: Electoral Laws Gender Quotas Reserved Seats Candidate Selection Procedures Supply of Candidates Gatekeepers (parties) Pool of Candidates Voters Representatives Figure: adapted from Norris 2004, p. 183 9
Causes II: Institutional Barriers: Electoral rules Proportional Representation (PR) vs. First-Past-the- Post (FPTP) Adoption of gender quotas 10
Germany: Two electoral formulas Comparing the proportion of women elected to the Bundestag from two electoral tiers, 1961-2009 Percent 0 10 20 30 40 1961 1965 1969 1972 1976 1980 1983 1987 Election Year 1990 1994 1998 2002 2005 2009 % Seats Women Bundestag % Women from PR List % Women from SMD Source: Fortin-Rittberger and Eder 2014 11
National vs. European Parliament: Comparing the proportion of women between 1979-2014 40 30 % Women 20 10 0 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Source: Fortin-Rittberger and Rittberger 2014 Average Lower House Percent Women European Parliament Percent Women 12
National-European Parliament Gender Gap: Percent women in EP minus % in Lower Houses, 2014 Malta Ireland Estonia Croatia United Kingdom Romania France Slovakia Latvia Austria Finland Sweden Hungary Italy Portugal Luxembourg Czech Republic Cyprus Bulgaria Slovenia Netherlands Greece Spain Poland Germany Denmark Belgium Lithuania -20 0 20 40 60 Gender gap between European Parliament and lower houses 2014 (difference between percentages) Source: Fortin-Rittberger and Rittberger 2014 13
Breaking down the arrow Candidate selection in context Political Culture & Societal Modernization Egalitarian or Traditional Attitudes Institutions: Electoral Laws Gender Quotas Reserved Seats Candidate Selection Procedures Supply of Candidates Gatekeepers (parties) Pool of Candidates Voters Representatives Figure: adapted from Norris 2004, p. 183 14
Causes III Recruitment procedures by political parties Who are the individuals selecting candidates? Selectorates that are more inclusive nominate more women than top-down practices. What are the selection procedures? Can candidates come forward, or must they be nominated by others? 15
Austria: National vs. subnational Comparing the proportion of women at different levels of government in 2013 100 80 60 40 Men Women 20 0 Mayors (Land Salzburg) Municipal Councils (Land Salzburg) Landtag (Land Salzburg) Nationalrat 16
Breaking down the arrow Candidate selection in context Political Culture & Societal Modernization Egalitarian or Traditional Attitudes Institutions: Electoral Laws Gender Quotas Reserved Seats Candidate Selection Procedures Supply of Candidates Gatekeepers (parties) Pool of Candidates Voters Representatives Figure: adapted from Norris 2004, p. 183 17
Causes IV: Recruitment and Selection Problems Recruitment Problem (supply): Women are less disposed to run for public officein general, and even less likely at the local level. Selection Problem (demand): Women are less frequently included on party lists at the municipal level due to informal recruitment practices. 18
In a nutshell: The process from selection to election is multilayered Eligible population Aspirants Candidates Representatives Figure: adaptation based on Norris and Lovenduski, 1995, p.184. 19
Currentresearch 2013. J. Fortin-Rittberger & C. Eder. Towards a Gender-equal Bundestag? The Impact of Electoral Rules on Women s Representation. West European Politics. Volume 36(5): 969-985. Forthcoming. J. Fortin- Rittberger & B. Rittberger. Nominating Women for EP Elections: Exploring the Role of Political Parties Recruitment Procedures. European Journal of Political Research. 2014. J. Fortin-Rittberger & B. Rittberger. Do Electoral Rules Matter? Explaining National Differences in Women s Representation in the European Parliament. European Union Politics. Volume 15(4): 496-520. Forthcoming. Christina Eder, Jessica Fortin- Rittberger & Corinna Kröber. The Higher the Fewer? Patterns of Female Representation across Levels of Government in Germany. Parliamentary Affairs. 20
Work in Progress The Consequences of Electoral System Change in Modern Democracies (with Philipp Harfst) jointly funded by the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung/ Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The Electoral Success of Women at Different levels of Government (with Christina Eder) Funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. Candidate selections procedures in Europe (with Berthold Rittberger). Grant proposal in progress. 21