In Pursuit of Representation: The Effect of Gender Quotas on Legislative Committee Assignments Open Access
Gloor, Susannah D. (2011)
Published
Abstract
Many previous studies on women's substantive representation in
legislatures have focused on the effect of gender proportions in
Western legislatures. Specifically, many researchers have
tested
critical mass theory, which states that women must achieve a
"critical mass" of descriptive
representation before they can work as a force to promote women's
interests. However, at least
within a Western context, many political scientists have not found
evidence to support critical
mass theory (Bratton 2005; Carroll 2008; Heath, Schwindt-Bayer, and
Taylor-Robinson 2005;
Reingold 2000). This study aims to test the influence of a gender
quota on women's substantive
representation, in order to determine whether critical mass theory
is true in a quota legislature
outside of the Western world. The legislative committee membership
of female and male
legislators was compared across two legislative assemblies for each
of two countries-one with a
reserved seats quota (Pakistan) and one without a quota (India).
The study concludes that female
legislators who benefited from the gender quota in Pakistan were
more likely to substantively
represent their gender (serve on women's issues committees) than
the elected women in both
Pakistan and India. However, the quota women were also more likely
to serve on power
committees and men's issues committees, providing support for the
mandate effect as described
by Franceschet and Piscopo (2008). Still, the study does not
provide evidence to truly support
critical mass theory due to a lack of support for the theory across
both legislative assemblies.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LITERATURE REVIEW
_____________________________________________________
2
Critical Mass
Theory_____________________________________________________2
Contradictory Thoughts on Critical Mass
Theory________________________________3
Gender Quotas and Substantive Representation
_______________________________9
HYPOTHESES
___________________________________________________________
13
Forms of Quota Provisions
________________________________________________13
Implications of a Reserved Seats Quota
______________________________________15
Statement of
Hypotheses__________________________________________________17
RESEARCH DESIGN
______________________________________________________
21
Independent Variable
____________________________________________________21
Dependent
Variable______________________________________________________28
Identifying Women's Issues
_______________________________________________________ 32
Identifying Men's
Issues__________________________________________________________
35
Classifying Power
Committees_____________________________________________________
38
Classifying Weak or Undesirable
Committees__________________________________________ 41
RESULTS
______________________________________________________________
42
Data Analysis
__________________________________________________________42
Pakistan in Isolation: H1-H6
_______________________________________________44
Pakistan and India:
H7-H9_________________________________________________50
Going Further: Repercussions of Assignments
_________________________________55
CONCLUSIONS
__________________________________________________________
58
REFERENCES
___________________________________________________________
63
APPENDIX
______________________________________________________________
68
Data Constraints
________________________________________________________68
Committee
Coding________________________________________________________71
About this Honors Thesis
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