Sample Article

 Electoral Systems and Women’s Representation: A Long-Term  Perspective

Ian McAllister and Donley T. Studlar

Abstract: This paper provides a long-term perspective on women’s legislative representation in 20 Western democracies by describing and analysing the patterns over a 50-year period, 1950-2000. Descriptive patterns show that the same countries who were leaders in women’s representation, albeit at very low levels, in the 1950s, remain the leaders, but with an increased gap, in 2000. A multivariate analysis of factors influencing women’s representation over the entire period finds that the most important variables are a proportional electoral system, early women’s enfranchisement, and the introduction of gender quotas for political parties. The conclusion emphasises the implications of these findings for women’s legislative representation in Anglo-American democracies.

In attempting to explain differences across countries in women’s legislative representation, several factors have been tested. Among those that have been found to have demonstrable effects are economic development, political culture, women’s socio-economic status, women’s social movements, and electoral rules, especially electoral systems and the introduction of party quotas for women candidates (Darcy et al., 1994; Matland, 1998; Matland and Studlar, 1996; Banaszak et al., 2002; Caul, 2001). Norris and Lovenduski (1995) differentiate among system, supply, and demand variables for candidates. Electoral rules constitute part of the system variables, although they can also be considered as part of the demand structure for women candidates.

The relationship between electoral systems and women’s representation is longstanding. For almost a half century, studies have consistently found that singlemember district (SMD) systems, whether majority, plurality, or preferential voting, have fewer women than do proportional representation (PR) systems (Duverger, 1955; Lakeman and Lambert, 1955; Farrell, 2001).2 Within PR systems, party list systems have larger numbers of women representatives than single transferable vote (STV) systems. When mixed electoral systems are introduced, as in post-war Germany and New Zealand, Japan, Italy, and the recently established devolved legislatures in Scotland and Wales, women’s representation falls between the SMD and party list PR levels, and is often greater than under STV. Yet, in most mixed systems women legislators come largely from the proportional part of the ballot rather than the single-member side (Studlar, 1999).

Despite the generality of these findings, unresolved issues remain. The first is that not all proportional representation and mixed systems have higher proportions of women than do SMD systems, which indicates that other organisational and cultural factors are at work. Second, there is still considerable variation from country to country, even among those using the same type of electoral system. Third, those countries, all party list PR, which have the highest proportions of women in legislatures have tended to reach a ceiling at the 30-40% level over the past decade. Finally, most of the studies which have contributed to this generalisation have been snapshots of legislatures over a short period of time (Rule, 1981, 1987; Norris, 1987; Darcy et al., 1994; Siaroff, 2000; cf. Matland and Studlar, 1996; Matland, 1998). Furthermore, as women’s representation levels have stabilised in recent years, there have been fewer such studies, and rarely up-to-date ones.

To answer these questions, we need to examine the relationship between electoral systems and women’s representation in stable democratic systems over the long term, taking into account the earlier years of generally low representation as well as more recent gains. Thus we analyse women’s representation across 20 OECD democracies over half a century from 1950-2000. The focus, as in most such studies, is on the most popularly elected branch of the legislature, the lower house in a bicameral institution. Based on these findings and the results of recent electoral system changes in New Zealand and the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, we consider the implications for how Anglo-American countries, often considered laggards in women’s representation, could generate greater shares of seats for women.

Continue: Patterns of Women’s Representation

Taken From - Representation, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2002, pp. 3-14