Might More Women Make a Difference? Gender, Party and Ideology among Canada's Parliamentary Candidates

The policy consequences of having more women in positions of political power remain an issue of debate in the literature on women and politics. Since differences in the attitudes of women and men politicians are important to this question, data on gender differences in the opinions of politicians ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of political science 1997-12, Vol.30 (4), p.663-688
Main Author: Erickson, Lynda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CANADA
Candidate
Candidates
Conservatism
Elections
FEMALE SEX
Females
Gender
Gender differences
Gender equality
Gender roles
GENDER ROLES, GENDER DIFFERENCES
Government and politics
House of commons
IDEOLOGY
Liberalism
Men
Parliament
PARLIAMENT (ALL NATIONS)
Policy Making
Political candidates
Political Participation
Political Parties
POLITICAL PARTY
Political science
Politicians
Sex Differences
Social Attitudes
Social Policy
Women
Women in politics
Women in politics & government
Women legislators
Womens rights
Womens studies
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Summary:The policy consequences of having more women in positions of political power remain an issue of debate in the literature on women and politics. Since differences in the attitudes of women and men politicians are important to this question, data on gender differences in the opinions of politicians are a welcome contribution to the debate. This article explores the question of gender differences in opinion among a sample of candidates for the 1993 Canadian general election and considers whether differences persist once party is taken into account. The findings confirm the view that on issues particularly related to women, gender does structure opinion. On other issues, while party plays a predominant role in differentiating opinion, gender has an imprint, albeit variable by party and attitudinal domain. Les conséquences politiques découlant du nombre croissant de femmes occupant des postes d'autorité au sein du pouvoir demeurent un sujet de débat dans la littérature portant sur la participation des femmes dans la vie politique. Puisque les différences d'orientation des femmes et des hommes en politique représentent un élément capital de ce débat, les statistiques concernant ces différences d'opinion y apportent une contribution opportune. Cet article se penche sur un sondage réalisé auprès d'un échantillon de candidats et de candidates à l'occasion de l'élection fédérale canadienne de 1993 afin de voir si les différences persistent lorsque l'affiliation partisane est prise en considération. Les résultats confirment la thèse selon laquelle les opinions exprimées par les répondants et les répondantes sont reliées aux intérêts exprimés par les femmes et à l'appartenance sexuelle. Dans d'autres domaines, bien que le parti joue un rôle prédominant dans les divergences d'opinion, le sexe a un impact, ce dernier fluctuant entre les parties et la gamme des attitudes qu'ils affichent.
ISSN:0008-4239
1744-9324
DOI:10.1017/S0008423900016474