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Page 1: The Impact of Gender Quotas - Ochanomizu University2016/02/17  · atively little research on gender representation. Most discussions are limited to analyzing the impact of quotas

ジェンダー研究 第17号 2014

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Womenmakeup20.3percentofparliamentariansaroundtheworldtoday(IPU2012).Theworldiswitnessingtherapiddiffusionofgenderquotasaimedatimprovingthehistoricalunderrepresenta-tionofwomeningovernment—womencontinuetodobetterwhenlegislativeorvoluntaryquotasareused.Howeffectivehavethesequotasbeeninmeetingtheiroriginalobjectivesofincreasinggenderrepresentation?Haveundesirablefemalecandidatesenteredpoliticalofficeasaresultofgenderquo-tas?Franceschetetal.’sbook(2012)addressesthesequestionsregardingtheimpactofquotasusingin-depthcasestudiesoftwelvecountriesfromfiveregionsaroundtheworld:WesternEurope,LatinAmerica,sub-SaharanAfrica,AsiaandtheMiddleEast.Thisreviewsummarizesmajorfindingsofthebook,anddiscussesimportantcontributionsinthefieldofwomenandpolitics.Iconcludethere-viewbydiscussingimplicationsthesefindingshaveongenderrepresentationinEastAsia—aregionthatisnotcoveredindetailinFranceschetetal.’sbook.

Thebookbeginsbyconceptualizingtheimpact—“whetherthemeansbywhichwomenenterpol-itics influencehow,whyandtowhatextenttheirpresenceaffectsdifferenttypesofrepresentativeprocess”(p.4).Specifically,theauthorsdistinguishthreeimportanttypesofpoliticalrepresentation:“descriptiverepresentationisunderstoodasthenumbersandthekindsofwomenelected,substantiverepresentationisconceptualizedastheformandcontentofpolicymaking,andfinallysymbolicrepre-sentationistheorizedaspublicattitudestowardwomeninpoliticsandtrendsinthepoliticalengage-mentoffemaleconstituents”(p.13).

Thebook,then,discussesatotaloftwelvecountries,assessinghowquotasaffectdescriptive,sub-stantive,andsymbolicrepresentationineachcountry.Thatis,chapters2,3,and4examinethediffer-encesintheprofilesofmaleandfemalerepresentativesinFrance,ArgentinaandUganda(adistinc-tionmadebetweenquotaandnon-quotawomen),findingthatthoughbackgroundsmaydiffer,femalepoliticiansarenotnecessarily lessqualifiedthantheirmalecounterparts.Similarly,assessingwhatkindoffemalerepresentativesappearedsincetheadoptionofreservedseats inMorocco,chapter5findsthatpoliticalpatronageplaysanimportantroleindeterminingwhowinsaccesstopower,whichappliessimilarlytobothmenandwomen.

Next,chapters6 through9assesshowthe formandthecontentofpolicieschangeasquotawomenentergovernment;however,theempiricalevidenceonthistopicismixed.Chapter6showsthatfemalelegislatorsgenerallygivemoreprioritytominorityissuesthanmaleparliamentariansinBrazil,althoughsuch focusedattentiononwomen’s issuesrunsthedangerofmarginalizing female

Franceschet,Susan,MonaLenaKrook,andJenniferM.Piscopo編著

The Impact of Gender Quotas(CambridgeUniversityPress.2012年ISBN:978-0199830084US26.96$)

YOONJiso

〈書評〉

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Yoon,Jiso Franceschet,Susan,MonaLenaKrook,andJenniferM.Piscopo編著 The Impact of Gender Quotas

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legislators,byseekingsoftissuesratherthanhardissuesthatdealwiththeessenceofgovernmentpolicymaking(e.g.,economy,defense).Chapter7similarlyshowsthatfemalerepresentativesactonbehalfofwomenastheygainexperience inEngland.Bycontrast,aschapters8and9show,anin-creaseinthenumberoffemalelegislatorshasnotmademuchdifferenceinSouthAfricaorAfghani-stan,althoughthesefindingsarenotsurprisingconsideringthe fact that thetwocountriesarena-scentdemocracies,wherepoliticalinstitutionsarequiteyoungandunstable.

Finally,chapters10through13examinehowpublicperceptionsandattitudeschangedasaresultofgenderquotaadoptionand implementation.Whereas theBelgiancase inchapter10showsthatquotaswidenthegapbetweenmaleandfemalelegislatorsinthewaysinwhichpoliticalelitesthinkaboutissuesofunderrepresentation,otherchaptersanalyzinghow“public”attitudeschangeasare-sultofquotasfindthatitisquitedifficulttopreciselyassesstheimpactofquotasonsymbolicrepre-sentation.That is, thoughMexico,Rwanda,andIndiacasesdo illustratehowpublicperceptionsofwomenand leadershipchanged,studiesareunable toconfirmwhetherthis isadirectoutcomeofgenderquotas,orapartofbroadculturalandpoliticalchangesoccurringovertime.

Overall, these findingshave important implications forunderstanding the impact ofquotascross-nationally.Most importantly,quotas innowayencourageunder-qualifiedfemalecandidatestoentergovernment.Additionally,agreaternumberofwomeninparliamentdoeschangepolicymakinginacountry—moreattention ispaid towomen’sconcerns(e.g.,domesticviolence, andwomen’srights)asmorewomenentergovernment—althoughthespecificdegreeof impactdependsonthecontext.Forinstance,agreaternumberofwomeninparliamentdoesnotnecessarilyresultinpolicychangesinnascentdemocracies.Finally,quotasandwomenlegislatorsdochangethewaysinwhichthepublicthinkaboutgovernmentandrepresentation,butspecificwaysinwhichsymbolicrepresen-tationtakesplaceremainunclearandinconclusive.

Thebookhasdistinctstrengthsthatdeserveafurthermention.First,thebookclearlyconceptu-alizestheimpactofgenderquotasondistincttypesofpoliticalrepresentation(i.e.,descriptive,sub-stantive, symbolic).Second, thebookexamines the impactofquotasacrosscountriesandregionsaround theworldbyrelyingon thecommonconceptof representation.Finally, thegeographicalscopeandmethodologicaldiversitythebookofferstoassesstheimpactofgenderquotasaroundtheworldisunprecedentedandtrulyimpressive.

Atthesametime,however,thebookalsohasseveralcaveats.Mostimportantly,differentwaysofoperationalizingkeyconcepts likedescriptive, substantiveandsymbolic representationacrosscountriesmakeitdifficulttoassessthetrueimpactofquotascomparatively.Thisismostproblematicinthecaseofsubstantiverepresentation—measuringwhenandhowwomenparliamentarianshavemadeadifferenceinpoliticsandpolicymakinginacountry.Additionally,thepoliticalvariable,orthepoliticalcontext thataffects the impactofquotasremainsunclear.For instance,dogenderquotasworkbetterundercertainelectoralandpartysystems?Whatpoliticalandsocialcharacteristicspro-moteorpreventwomen’spoliticalrepresentation?

ThoughthebookdoesnotdiscussmuchabouttheimpactofquotasinAsia,thefindingsofthe

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bookhaveimportantimplicationsforunderstandinggenderrepresentationintheregion.Regionalav-eragesofwomeninparliamentstatisticsshowthatwomencomprise17.9percentofparliaments inAsiatoday.This iswellbelowtheaverage intheNordiccountries(42.0%),andsignificantly lowerthanthatofsub-SaharanAfrica(20.4%).Furthermore,EastAsiaremainsaregionwherethereisrel-ativelylittleresearchongenderrepresentation.Mostdiscussionsarelimitedtoanalyzingtheimpactofquotasondescriptiverepresentation,particularlybecausethenumberofwomeningovernmentre-mainslowinthesecountries.WhetherelectoralorpartyquotashaveassistedgenderrepresentationingovernmentinEastAsiaremainslargelyunexplored.

Japan,inparticular,remainsacountrywherethenumberoffemalerepresentativesisstillverylowincomparisontoestablisheddemocracies,aswellasmanydevelopingdemocracies.Womencom-prise8.1percentof theLowerHouse,16.1percentof theUpperHouse(see Inter-ParliamentaryUnionwebsite:http://www.ipu.org/english/home.htm),and10.4percentofsubnationalparliaments

(Eto2010).Theabsenceoflegislativegenderquotas,anddifferentelectoralrulespresentatthena-tionaland localelectionscomplicatesmeans to increasegenderrepresentation.Furthermore, so-cio-culturalfactors(e.g.,genderroles,andbiasagainstwomen’sinvolvementinpolitics)alsocontrib-ute towomen’sunderrepresentation inparliament.Nevertheless,politicalparties(e.g.,TheJapanNewPartyintheearly1990s,theLiberalDemocraticPartyintheearly2000s)havemadesuccessfulattemptstoimplementgenderquotasvoluntarilyinordertoincreasethenumberoffemalerepresen-tatives.Similarly,thewomen’smovementassociatedwiththeLifeClubCo-operativemadeimportantadvancementsingettingtheirrepresentativeselectedinlocallegislatures(LeBlanc1999).Theim-pressivestridesmadebywomen’sgroupsinJapaninsubnationalparliamentssuggestthatwomen’selectoral successcanbepromotednotonly through institutionalmeans(i.e.,quotaprovisionsandelectoralreforms),butalsothroughnoninstitutionalmechanisms(i.e.,socialmovements).

Ontheotherhand,womeninpublicofficebecamethefocusofpublicattentionwhenParkGeun-hye—afifthtermNationalAssemblymemberbeforeannouncingherdecisiontorunforpresident—becamethefirstwomanPresidentofKoreain2013.Koreahasadoptedgenderquotasatbothnation-alandsubnationalparliamentaryelectionssince theearly2000s(Shin2014).Yet,whetherquotawomenhavemadeanypolicydifference,oraffectedhowthepublicthinkaboutpoliticsremainsrela-tivelyunknown(butforanexceptionseeKimandOh2010).ItisparticularlyimportanttoexaminethesequestionsgiventherecentdiscussionsofelectoralreformsinKoreaoverabolishingpartynomi-nationsinprovincialandmunicipalelections(Park2013).Thoughthegoalofthereformistoeradi-catethenegativeinfluenceofpoliticalpartiesinhavingtoomuchcontroloverlocalgovernanceandpolitics,party involvement in localelectionsmakes it impossible forpoliticalparties tocommit tonominatingacertainproportionof femalecandidates(implementationofquotas).Ifevidencefindsthatquotashaveassistedwomen’srepresentationdescriptively,substantively,andsymbolicallyinKo-reanpolitics,anymovementthatobstructsthe implementationofgenderquotasshouldbetreatedwithcaution.

Insum,Franceschet,KrookandPiscopo’seditedvolumeontheimpactofgenderquotasdoesa

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stunningjobofconceptualizingpoliticalrepresentation,andapplyingtheminvariousnationalcontextsusingdifferentresearchmethodologies.Theeditorsaswellasauthorsofindividualcountrychaptersdeserveapplause fortheiraccomplishmentsandacademiccontributions inthefieldofcomparativepolitics.Fewcomparativestudiestodateintegratetheoriesofelectoralandpartysystemswithmi-norityrepresentation,andextendthediscussiontodifferentregionsaroundtheworld(foranexcep-tionseeKittilsonandSchwindt-Bayer2012).Inthisregard,thebookisasignificantadditiontogrow-ingresearchoncross-nationalstudiesofgenderandpolitics.

(ゆん・じそ/カンザス大学政治学部専任講師)

引用文献Eto,Mikiko.“WomenandRepresentationinJapan.”International Feminist Journal of Politics.12.2.(2010):pp.177-201.Franceschet,Susan,MonaLenaKrook,andJenniferM.Piscopo,eds.The Impact of Gender Quotas.NewYork:Cambridge

UniversityPress,2012.Inter-ParliamentaryUnion(IPU).Women in Parliament in 2012: The Year in Perspective,2012.Inter-ParliamentaryUnion(IPU).“WomeninNationalParliaments.”AccessedDecember1,2013.http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/

classif.htm.KimHyunhoi,andYusoekOh. “TheGenderQuotaSysteminKoreanPolitics:TenYears’Experience.”Current Trends and

Prospect.79.(2010):pp.140-82.(InKorean.)Kittilson,MikiCaul,andLeslieA.Schwindt-Bayer.The Gendered Effects of Electoral Institutions.Oxford:OxfordUniversity

Press,2012.LeBlanc,Robin.Bicycle Citizens: The Political World of the Japanese Housewife.Berkeley,California:UniversityofCalifornia

Press,1999.Park,Gilja.2013.“TheDebateOverAbolishingPartyNominationsinMunicipalElections.”Women Times.August,10.Shin,Ki-young. “Women’sSustainableRepresentationandtheSpilloverEffectofElectoralGenderQuotas inSouthKorea.”

International Political Science Review.35.1.(2014):pp.80-92.


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