POL3126 Lecture 7: 2015-03-09 - Women, Gender, & Social Policies.docx

• YouTube, Goran Bregovic – Djurdjevdan • Kathleen Wynne’s campus visit • Lean In • Hilary’s email Institutional Barriers • The rules of the game and election design • Proportional representation is clearly better for women because in FPTP, parties are concerned about nominating women because they see it as a disadvantage (it could be) • Gender quotas – does it help or hinder women in politics? Does it build a solid foundation for equitable legislatures with gender distribution, or does it degrade women through tokenism? • Where are women most likely to be elected head of state/government? Ilene McDunna -in politically systems that combine traditional and modern features (tight connection between state and family with guarantee for electoral processes and electoral right) Cultural Barriers • Cultural norms or attitudes to the idea of women in politics • Solutions – convince more women to run, reform the rules of the electoral game • Age plays a role in how women in politics is perceived • Female candidates win at equal rates to male candidates • It’s a myth that electing women gives parties less of a chance to win • There are just much fewer female candidates o What are women’s policies?  Where do you draw the line?  Women’s policies benefit everyone, not just men :P  Reproductive rights o What are the expectations of women in policy making roles? (What ideas are they expected to forward, how are they expected to act, are there different expectations when they’re running vs. when they’re in office?)  Walking a fine line between being too feminine or too masculine  Higher ethical expectations  Male policies – finance, economy, military, etc.  Disagreements with a female politicians policies inevitably lead to a straw man attack Presentation – the position of First Lady in the USA • How the role is perceived -domesticity (a glorified house wife) -popular opinion (the focus on the wives of presidential candidates) • Would this focus occur for First Gentlemen? • First ladies rarely keep their career (even though they are well-educated) Presentation – the representation of women within House of Cards • A study of the representation and portrayal of women in political leadership roles within film and television • Diversity of women - over the age of 50, visible minorities, etc. • Almost all female characters flaunt their sexuality • Women almost always have less political clout Impact of Female Legislators • Enemies of Happiness - woman banished from the assembly for discussing war lords in the Afghan parliament Paths to Political Office • Familial association – Gandhi’s wife, Endira • Male relative who held a high position (husband or father) • Political insider – most successful path for women seeking office • Political outsider – least successful path for women seeking office • Female prime minister of Pakistan (Bhutto) (1980-1990) • Almost her whole family was assassinated during her residency. She was later also assassinated after she was exiled and returned. Impact of Female Legislators in the Developing World • 9 countries in Latin America since 1973 have had women heads of government • Success rates (passing legislation) – in Costa Rica, 80% success rate for female legislators, 50% for male legislators getting this legislation approved • In the Middle East, number of women elected to parliament and a few leaders (Iran – 13 women in parliament, but the question is how effective the par