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Might More Women Make a Difference? Gender, Party and Ideology among Canada's Parliamentary Candidates*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

Lynda Erickson
Lynda Erickson
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
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Abstract

The policy consequences of having more women in positions of political power remain an issue of debate in the literature on women and politics. Since differences in the attitudes of women and men politicians are important to this question, data on gender differences in the opinions of politicians are a welcome contribution to the debate. This article explores the question of gender differences in opinion among a sample of candidates for the 1993 Canadian general election and considers whether differences persist once party is taken into account. The findings confirm the view that on issues particularly related to women, gender does structure opinion. On other issues, while party plays a predominant role in differentiating opinion, gender has an imprint, albeit variable by party and attitudinal domain.

Résumé

Les conséquences politiques découlant du nombre croissant de femmes occupant des postes d'autorité au sein du pouvoir demeurent un sujet de débat dans la littérature portant sur la participation des femmes dans la vie politique. Puisque les différences d'orientation des femmes et des hommes en politique représentent un élément capital de ce débat, les statistiques concernant ces différences d'opinion y apportent une contribution opportune. Cet article se penche sur un sondage réalisé auprès d'un échantillon de candidats et de candidates à l'occasion de l'élection fédérale canadienne de 1993 afin de voir si les différences persistent lorsque l'affiliation partisane est prise en considération. Les résultats confirment la thèse selon laquelle les opinions exprimées par les répondants et les répondantes sont reliées aux intérêts exprimés par les femmes et à l'appartenance sexuelle. Dans d'autres domaines, bien que le parti joue un rôle prédominant dans les divergences d'opinion, le sexe a un impact, ce dernier fluctuant entre les parties et la gamme des attitudes qu'ils affichent.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , December 1997 , pp. 663 - 688
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1997

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References

1 Gotell, Lise and Brodie, Janine, “Women and Parties in the 1990s: Less than Ever an Issue of Numbers,” in Thorburn, Hugh G., ed., Party Politics in Canada (7th ed.; Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1996), 68.Google Scholar

2 See, for example, Bashevkin, Sylvia, Toeing the Lines: Women in Party Politics in English Canada (2nd ed.; Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1993), 67–68Google Scholar, and Burt, Sandra, “The Changing Patterns of Public Policy,” in Butt, Sandra, Code, Lorraine and Dorney, Lindsay, eds., Changing Patterns: Women in Canada (2nd ed.; Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1993), 227–30.Google Scholar For a discussion of this issue see Gotell and Brodie, “Women and Parties in the 1990s,” 60–70; Young, Lisa, “Fulfilling the Mandate of Difference: Women in the Canadian House of Commons,” in Arscott, Jane and Trimble, Linda, eds., In the Presence of Women: Representation in Canadian Governments (Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1997), 89–91Google Scholar; Phillips, Ann, Democracy and Difference (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993)Google Scholar; and Kelly, R. M., Saint-Germain, M. A. and Horn, J. D., “Female Public Officials: A Different Voice?” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 515 (1991), 77–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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4 It should be emphasized that attitudinal data are only one kind of relevant evidence on the question of whether female legislators might make a difference. Women's conduct within legislatures, including their speeches and their behaviour within committees, and their approach to constituents are other important dimensions of representation for which gender may be relevant.

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6 The BQ mailings were postponed until party endorsement of the project was received.

7 Erickson, Lynda, “Entry to the Commons: Parties, Recruitment and the Election of Women in 1993,” in Andrew, Caroline and Tremblay, Manon, eds., Women and Representation in Canada (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1997).Google Scholar

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15 The questions in this index included ones concerning trade-offs between taxes and social services, statements about the disincentive of high taxes and an item on whether too many rely on government handouts.

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17 Young, “Fulfilling the Mandate of Difference,” 82–103.

18 Ibid., 99.

19 Ibid., 102.

20 The term “women's issues” is being used here for questionnaire items that most explicitly refer to women and/or questions of gender equality. This is not to suggest that other issues such as the economy or social policy are not just as important to women, nor that they do not have gender implications. It is, rather, being used as a shorthand for issues in which gender dimensions are most explicit.

21 Erickson, “Entry to the Commons.”

22 Erickson, Lynda, “Making Her Way In: Women, Parties and Candidacies in Canada,” in Lovenduski, Joni and Norris, Pippa, eds., Gender and Party Politics (London: Sage, 1993), 60–85.Google Scholar

23 A majority of Conservative candidates opposed special financial support for female candidates, even though their party has had a special fund to support women since 1986.

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25 Candidacies in the last election clearly varied in terms of the degree to which the party membership and/or organization (its “selectorate”) was involved in actively recruiting or choosing the local candidate. For a discussion of this aspects of party selection, see Erickson, Lynda, “Candidate Selection Revisited” (unpublished manuscript, Simon Fraser University, 1996).Google Scholar

26 This conclusion is drawn from the data presented by Norris, “Women Politicians,” 94 and 95, and Dodson et al., The Impact of Women in the 103rd Congress, 8 and 9. In Norris’ graphs, Conservative women tend to be more different than their male counterparts than are Liberal-Democratic or Labour party women compared to their male counterparts. In their analysis of selected roll-call votes by party and sex, Dodson et al. concluded there were “numerous instances of gender differences, especially among Republicans” (9).

27 Jonnasdottir, Anna, “On the Concept of Interest, Women's Interest and the Limitations of Interest Theory,” in Jones, K. B. and Jonnasdottir, A. G., eds., The Political Interests of Gender (London: Sage, 1988).Google Scholar