Suchergebnisse

The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons in Oct 2001, gaining royal assent in Feb 2002. The Bill followed the decrease in the numbers of women elected in the 2001 General Election. It permits political parties to introduce positive action in the selection of candidates. The Bill received cross party support & had an easy passage through both Houses of Parliament. Informed by feminist concepts of representation this article examines the arguments employed by MPs & Peers in support of the legislation. Arguments associated with the claim that women have a different political style received little support. There was greater discussion of, & support for, arguments based on symbolic representation & substantive representation, although many MPs were reluctant to make the strong claim that women's substantive representation is dependent on women's presence. However, the most widely supported argument in favor of the Bill was the justice argument, namely, that women are currently being denied equal opportunities in the parties' selection processes. 3 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

Feminist conceptions of political representation often claim a link between descriptive and substantive representation: that women representatives are more likely to act for women than male representatives. The election of 101 Labour women MPs to the House of Commons in 1997 provides an opportunity to examine this claim. This article is based on data from in-depth interviews with new intake Labour women MPs in both 1997 and 2000. It shows that many of them seek to and consider that they have substantively represented women since their election. According to the women MPs, their presence in Parliament has enabled the articulation of a feminised agenda in parliamentary debates, in select committees and in the Parliamentary Labour Party's women's group. At the constituency level, they consider that it has engendered both women's access, particularly by women's organisations, and the voicing of women's concerns. (Parliamentary Affairs / FUB)

In the period since the election of 120 women MPs to the House of Commons, discussion concerning their behaviour has been much in evidence. This article seeks to contribute to the analysis of whether women MPs seek to substantively represent women. It draws on qualitative interviews with more than half of the newly elected Labour women MPs. The paper demonstrates that more than two-thirds of the newly elected Labour women MPs are 'attitudinally feminist', one measure of whether women representatives will seek to 'act for' women. The article challenges, therefore, claims that women representatives have not sought feminised change in British politics.

Political representation is an essentially contested concept. Contemporary feminist conceptions claim a link between the presence of women and the potential for a feminised transformation of politics. Previous empirical research in the UK, which examined the question of women representatives' attitudes, concluded that women representatives were attitudinally more liberal/feminist than male representatives. This article extends the existing literature through a consideration of how the new intake of Labour women MPs conceptualise political representation. Three different dimensions are explored. First, the article examines constituency-level representation focusing upon the women MPs' perceptions of shared identity, affinity and their relationships with women constituents. Secondly, the question of whether women representatives perceive that women's presence will effect a feminisation within parliament by regendering the political agenda is considered. Finally, the impact of women representatives' presence in and on government is examined in relation to the women representatives' understanding of the role of the minister for women. The research suggests that the new-intake Labour women MPs acknowledge a feminised dimension to political representation, albeit a secondary one. This supports, in a qualified way, theoretical and empirical arguments that women's presence in politics has the potential to transform women's political representation.

In the period since the election of 120 women as Members of the British Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons, discussion concerning their behavior has been much in evidence. This article seeks to contribute to the analysis of whether women MPs seek to substantively represent women. It draws on qualitative interviews with more than half of the newly elected Labour women MPs. The paper demonstrates that 66+% are "attitudinally feminist," one measure of whether women representatives will seek to act for women. The article challenges claims that women representatives have not sought feminized change in British politics. 1 Table, 11 References. Adapted from the source document.

Political representation is an essentially contested concept. Contemporary feminist conceptions claim a link between the presence of women & the potential for a feminized transformation of politics. Previous empirical research in the UK, which examined the question of women representatives' attitudes, concluded that women representatives were attitudinally more liberal/feminist than male representatives. This article extends the existing literature through a consideration of how the new intake of Labour women MPs conceptualize political representation. Three different dimensions are explored. First, the article examines constituency-level representation focusing upon the women MPs' perceptions of shared identity, affinity, & their relationships with women constituents. Secondly, the question of whether women representatives perceive that women's presence will effect a feminization within parliament by regendering the political agenda is considered. Finally, the impact of women representatives' presence in & on government is examined in relation to the women representatives' understanding of the role of the minister for women. The research suggests that the new-intake Labour women MPs acknowledge a feminized dimension to political representation, albeit a secondary one. This supports, in a qualified way, theoretical & empirical arguments that women's presence in politics has the potential to transform women's political representation. 2 Tables, 29 References. Adapted from the source document.

Popular consensus holds that if 'enough women' are present in political institutions they will represent 'women's interests,' however, such generalized assumptions are frequently queried on theoretical grounds and consistently shown to be conditional in practice. In this text, Karen Celis and Sarah Childs address women's poverty of political representation with a feminist account of democratic representation. Celis and Childs rethink and redesign representative institutions, taking ideological and intersectional differences as their starting point.