Many women are elected to public office in Canada and around the world, but they nevertheless continue to face entrenched gender barriers that limit their access to political power. In this webinar, UCalgary scholars examine the effects women have on legislative agendas and political landscapes, the obstacles they encounter, and what needs to change to achieve gender equality in politics. Watch the full webinar recording at https://explore.ucalgary.ca/women-politics-access-impact-and-outcomes

1. Women in politics: Access,
impact and outcomes
Dr. Susan Franceschet, PhD
Professor, Faculty of Arts
Dr. Brenda O’Neill, PhD
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts
March 7, 2019

2. • Professor of political science,
Faculty of Arts
• Research focuses on women’s
political representation,
gender quotas, and gender
and public policy
• Contact
• Email: sfrances@ucalgary.ca
• Twitter: @sufranceschet
Dr. Susan Franceschet, PhD
2

3. • Associate Professor of Political
Science, Faculty of Arts
• English language co-editor of The
Canadian Journal of Political Science
• Research interests include gender
and political party leadership in
Canada and the changing nature of
political and civic engagement
• Contact
• Email: bloneill@ucalgary.ca
• Twitter: @therunningprof
Dr. Brenda O’Neill, PhD
3

4. Three sets of questions motivating
research on women and politics
4
1. What determines women’s access to elected
office? Do women face gender-specific
barriers?
2. What impact do women have? Do they have
different policy priorities? Are they more likely
to focus on women’s policy issues?
3. What are the outcomes of women’s presence?
Does electing more women change public
ideas about women as leaders?

5. Global average of women in national
parliaments
Women’s
presence has
doubled in
last 20 years
1997
11.7%
2019
24.1%

6. 6
Today, 31 countries have parliaments with women
holding more than 35% of seats.

7. 7
Today, 31 countries have parliaments with women
holding more than 35% of seats.
But around the world, men still hold more than 75% of
seats in national parliaments.

8. Three stages of political
recruitment, or, three
hurdles women must pass
Women’s Access to Political Office
8
1. Be eligible, qualified,
and willing to run for
office

9. Three stages of political
recruitment, or, three
hurdles women must pass
Women’s Access to Political Office
9
1. Be eligible,
qualified, and
willing to run for
office
2. Be selected as
candidate by a
political party

10. Three stages of political
recruitment, or, three
hurdles women must pass
Women’s Access to Political Office
10
1. Be eligible, qualified,
and willing to run for
office
2. Be selected as
candidate by a
political party
3. Win election

11. 11
Evidence suggests that voters don’t
discriminate against female
candidates; but political parties do.

12. 12
Supply
• How many women are eligible and qualified to
run for office?
• How many women are willing to run for office?
Demand
• What makes parties want to nominate women
as candidates?
• What factors discourage parties from looking
to women as potential candidates?

13. Supply-side obstacles
13
No shortage of qualified women
But surveys reveal gender gaps in perceptions of
qualifications and interest in running for office

14. Demand-side factors
14
1. Party ideology
2. Electoral system
3. Gender quotas

15. Party ideology: Left parties nominate
more women than parties on the right
15
Democratic party
caucus is 40%
female
Republican party
caucus is 8%
female

16. Electoral systems
16
Countries with proportional representation (PR) elect
more women than countries with first-past-the-post
electoral systems

17. Countries with gender quotas
elect more women
17

18. Countries with gender quotas elect more
women
18
26 of the 31 countries with more than 35% female
representation in parliament use gender quotas

19. IMPACT AND
OUTCOMES
19

20. What does the research say?
Women have different policy priorities and are more
likely to pursue issues relevant to women

21. What does the research say?
Women have different policy priorities and are more
likely to pursue issues relevant to women
But party matters more than gender

22. Outcomes of electing more
women
22
Elect more women
Increase women’s
interest in politics
More women in
supply pool willing
to run for office

23. 23

24. Women’s Presence in the House of
Commons - Over Time
24
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1917 1925 1930 1940 1949 1957 1962 1965 1972 1979 1984 1993 2000 2006 2011
PercentageofWomenMPs
Election Year

25. Women in the House of Commons Over
Time – Periods of Growth
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1917 1925 1930 1940 1949 1957 1962 1965 1972 1979 1984 1993 2000 2006 2011
PercentageofWomenMPs
Election Year
Period of Growth
1968 - 1997

26. Women in the House of Commons Over
Time – Periods of Stagnation
26
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1917 1925 1930 1940 1949 1957 1962 1965 1972 1979 1984 1993 2000 2006 2011
PercentageofWomenMPs
Election Year
Period of Stagnation
1917 to 1968
Period of Stagnation
1997 to 2008

27. Women’s Representation by Party:
2105 Canadian General Election
27
43
31
27
19
41
27
20
17
NEW DEMOCRATS LIBERAL PARTY BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS CONSERVATIVE PARTY
PercentageofWomen
Candidates Caucus

28. First Past the Post (Single Member
Plurality) Electoral System
28
One nominee (district
magnitude)
Incumbency
Decentralized process

29. Supply Side Factors
29
Gender Norms
Women have less time
Political Ambition
Media Coverage

30. Key Takeaways
30
• Women’s political under-representation is not due to
women’s unwillingness to run nor to voters’
unwillingness to vote for women
• Key factors are political parties (gatekeepers) and the
presence of gender quotas
• In Canada, political parties play a primary role; our
electoral system makes it difficult – but not
impossible – to increase women’s numbers
• Women’s presence in politics can shape policy but
this too is mediated by political parties
• Women’s political presence also important for role
model and indirect effects (e.g. political interest)

31. If interested here are some things you
might want to read…
31
• Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook, and Jennifer M. Piscopo
(Eds) The Impact of Gender Quotas. Oxford University Press,
2012.
• Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook, and Netina Tan (Eds).
The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Palgrave
Macmillan, 2018.
• Brenda O’Neill, “Unpacking Gender’s Role in Political
Representation in Canada,” Canadian Parliamentary Review.
38(2): 22-30.
• Linda Trimble, Jane Arscott, and Manon Tremblay, editors.
Stalled: The Representation of Women in Canadian
Governments. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2013.