Yvonne Galligan

Gender and Politics in Northern Ireland: the representation gap revisited

This article examines the nature of gender politics in Northern Ireland since the 1998 Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. Taking gender justice as a normative democratic framework, the article argues that despite the promise of womens equal participation in public and political life written into the Agreement, parties have delivered varied responses to integrating women, womens interests and perspectives into politics and policy platforms. This contrasts with general patterns supporting womens increased participation in social and political life. The article discusses womens descriptive and substantive representation through electoral outcomes and party manifestos, using the demands of successive womens manifestos as a benchmark. It concludes that while parties have given less recognition and inclusion to women than one might have expected in a new political context, the push for democratic accountability will ensure that gender politics will continue to have a place on the political agenda for some time to come.

Prospects for Women's Legislative Representation in Postsocialist Europe: The Views of Female Politicians

Research on womens political representation in postsocialist Europe has highlighted the role of cultural and political factors in obstructing womens access to legislative power, such as the prevalence of traditional gender stereotypes, electoral systems, and the absence of a feminist movement. Yet, the role of women political elites in enhancing or hindering womens access to political power in the region has so far remained uncharted. This article seeks to fill some of the existing gaps in this literature by examining the views of women politicians with regard to womens political underrepresentation and their assessments of strategies for redressing this imbalance. Findings from the analysis reveal that although women politicians recognize gender inequalities in representation as a problem requiring intervention, how the problem is perceived, and the preferred measures to deal with it, is largely shaped by the social and cultural context in which these actors are embedded.

Candidate Selection: More democratic or more centrally controlled

In the 2002 election, a total of 463 candidates presented themselves to the voters in Ireland’s 42 constituencies; most of these — 325, or 70 per cent — came from the six main parties while the other 138 were either independents or representatives of minor parties. The candidate selection process offers a rare glimpse of the internal workings of political parties, of internal rivalries and of the balance of power between party centres and constituency organisations. Controlling candidate selection is not just about choosing a particular set of party standard-bearers for the election. It is also about shaping the next parliament and presenting a particular image of a party to the public. We begin by examining the formal rules framing the conduct of selections for the 2002 election. We will then take a closer look at the three main participants — candidates, selectors and central party committees — before turning to a discussion of the outcomes followed by a section exploring the general issues raised by the candidate selection process in 2002.

STV: A Gender-Proportional System?

In the 2002 parliamentary election, Mary O’Rourke, deputy leader of Fianna Fail1 and government minister, lost the seat she held for two decades. Nora Owen, former minister and deputy leader of Fine Gael,2 also lost her longheld seat in that contest. In contrast, Marian Harkin, a nonparty candidate, won a seat on her first attempt in 2002, topping the poll in her constituency. A decade earlier, Eithne Fitzgerald won a seat for the Labour Party3 on her fifth attempt and in the process won more votes than any other candidate nationwide. These personal political pen-pictures illustrate the uncertainty surrounding the single transferable vote (STV). It suggests that political women, no matter how well established, are in a vulnerable position under this electoral system and that newcomer women can be advantaged given the right circumstances. In this chapter, we explore how much of this uncertainty is linked to the electoral system, and how much can be explained by other factors.

Gender and Political Representation: Current Empirical Perspectives

Representation is a core concept in the study and practice of politics. In unpacking its meaning, a useful starting point is to consider it as consisting of three distinct, interrelated dimensions. It is about who represents, what is represented, and how it is represented. The context of formal politics (voters, parties, elections, and legislators) provides the usual background for a discussion of one or more elements of representation. More recently, these aspects of representation have been applied when considering the role of nonelected interests in the political arena. This review considers the contribution to current understanding of gender and representation offered by four new books on the subject. Who is involved in claiming to represent gender, and specifically womens interests, in the political arena? There is growing evidence to indicate that female representatives in particular, although not exclusively, have been found to identify with promoting a more gender-equal society. Some have the political space and power actively to articulate and pursue this issue as government ministers, political leaders, and a significant proportion of the legislature. This

Equalizing opportunities for women in electoral politics in Ireland: The views of women members of parliament

Abstract This paper examines the attitudes of women political elites in Ireland toward positive action initiatives that would assist in increasing womens legislative presence. An earlier study isolated family responsibilities and lack of finance as significant barriers for Irish women wishing to enter, and stay in, political life. In addition, scholarly and policy debates on boosting womens parliamentary representation focus on manipulating electoral or party selection rules along with strategies for making a political career more compatible with womens socially determined responsibilities. This paper examines how Irish women politicians respond to various suggestions for positive action in these three arenas: combining legislative and family responsibilities, funding a political campaign and getting elected. The paper highlights the broad consensus among women politicians, irrespective of party, self-interest, or length of service, favoring certain positive action initiatives, as well as their reluctance to support other options. It also illustrates the complexity of implementing some of these reforms. In addition, the paper emphasizes how cultural expectations and values act to inhibit womens political agency.

Politics and Gender on the Island of Ireland: The Quest for Political Agency

Women’s political agency is not a recent phenomenon in Ireland. As a decade of historical commemorations on the island gets underway, we are reminded of the efforts of women’s rights campaigners during that time. ‘For men and women equally the rights of citizenship; from men and women equally the duties of citizenship’ declared Isabella Tod, unionist and feminist, in 1875. Tod’s words were an inspiration and a guiding principle for feminist activists in Ireland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The power of female collective agency at that time brought about votes for women. Tod and her compatriots believed that this fundamental citizenship right would enable women to take their rightful place alongside men in public affairs. A century on, the quest for formal and substantive gender equality continues. ‘Politics and Gender on the Island of Ireland: The Quest for Political Agency’ brings together a collection of articles concerned with uncovering the marginalised experiences of women in modern politics on the island of Ireland and details recent efforts to challenge the masculinised status quo. The term ‘political agency’ refers to the extent to which women feel enabled to make claims upon democratic politics, the state and political institutions and, in doing so, shape political outcomes. There are a number of areas in which women as institutional and extra-institutional actors today search for greater recognition of their claims to representation, equality and human rights, notably political parties, parliament, executives, courts and civil society. In exploring the relationship between women, the state and democratic politics on the island of Ireland today, ‘gender’ is treated as a category of analysis and a process of change. Understanding gender as a category recognises that organisations institutionalise definitions of masculinity, constructing gender cultures and defining gender-

Transforming the Irish Presidency: Activist Presidents and Gender Politics, 1990–2011

The election of two energetic women in succession to the office of President of Ireland challenged the notion that the presidency was a long-service reward for retiring politicians. Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese broke the male domination of the office, interpreted its functions in a more dynamic manner, and utilised the ‘soft power’ of the presidency with skill. Yet, as individuals they were very different in political focus, experience and ideological disposition. This article charts their respective backgrounds and discusses the context in which each woman came to the presidency. It explores their vision for the office. Focusing on the potential for harnessing the soft power of the presidency, it argues that Robinson adopted a classical representative view of the office, whereas McAleese chose a facilitatory style of leadership. The article concludes that in their different ways, Robinson and McAleese contributed to reshaping the office, utilising its symbolic potential and soft power to make it a more meaningful and fit-for-purpose political institution for the twenty-first century.

Women and the Election: Assessing the Impact of Gender Quotas

This chapter analyses the impact of gender quotas on the selection and election of women in the 2016 general election. It begins by reviewing the gendered recruitment and candidate selection plans of political parties as they implemented gender quotas. This is followed by a review of women’s candidate selection, identifying the challenges and controversies that emerged as parties set about reaching the 30 per cent gender threshold. Attention is given to the election campaign to identify the presence, if any, of a gendered dimension to campaign issues. Looking at women’s electoral performance indicates that gender quotas were successful in enhancing women’s electoral prospects. The chapter concludes by profiling the women elected and suggesting there is still room for improvement.

Gendering Enlargement of the EU

Originally starting in the 1950s with a membership of only six countries (Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), the European Union (EU) has substantially enlarged its membership in each decade since the 1970s to 27 members today — with the likelihood of more to come in the next decade. The process of enlargement began with the incorporation of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom into the European Economic Community in 1973, followed by Greece (1981), Spain and Portugal (1986). In a third ‘wave’ of expansion, Austria, Finland and Sweden became members of the European Community (EC) in 1995. Cyprus, Malta and eight countries of Central and Eastern Europe brought the total EU membership to 25 nations in 2004; they were subsequently joined by Romania and Bulgaria, admitted in 2007. By 2010, three further countries had secured ‘candidate’ membership status and were actively negotiating to become members of the EU: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. In addition, six other countries, the majority from the Balkan region along with Iceland, were recognised by the EU as potential candidates. Each stage of enlargement has required the countries seeking membership to adopt, transpose and implement the complete body of European law, policies, jurisprudence and practices known as the acquis communautaire, in force at that point in time (Iankova and Katzenstein 2003: 272).