When Do Women Represent Women? Variation in Substantive Representation in Latin America
| dc.contributor.advisor | Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A | |
| dc.creator | Senk, Kaitlin M | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-09-26T15:25:21Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-09-26T15:25:21Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2022-05 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-04-22 | |
| dc.date.submitted | May 2022 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2022-09-26T15:25:21Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Most of the research on women’s legislative behavior has focused on the ways in which men and women legislate differently. Specifically, this research has focused on the degree to which women initiate policies that address women’s rights issues in comparison to men in the legislature. However, there is considerable variation women’s substantive representation among women legislators with some women advocating on behalf of women in their policy work while others do not. Little work has been done to explore this variation among women. This is especially important as recent increases in women’s legislative presence globally have also meant greater diversity among women across several dimensions. This project explains variation in women’s substantive representation among women legislators. I examine how individual variation across certain dimensions affects the opportunities and constraints that elected women face in legislating on behalf of women’s interests. Specifically, I argue that variation across three dimensions–constituent preferences and party ideology, political career security, and positions of institutional power within the legislature–should explain variation in the representation of women’s rights issues among women in office. I measure the representation of women’s rights policies at two important stages of the legislative process: bill initiation and bill passage. I argue that factors like constituent preferences, party ideology, and political career security should explain variation in bill introduction patterns while access to institutional power, via leadership positions, should influence women’s effectiveness in passing these policies. I examine this question comparatively across Argentina (1983-2013) and Peru (1995-2016). I find that women across political parties have the ability to promote women’s rights policies in office. Additional, women who are more politically secure in their legislative careers are more inclined to promote progressive gender policies when compared to women who are politically vulnerable. Finally, although I do not find that women in leadership roles are more effective in passing women’s rights bills, those who introduce more progressive gender policies are more likely to see these initiatives through the legislative process. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Senk, Kaitlin M. "When Do Women Represent Women? Variation in Substantive Representation in Latin America." (2022) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113361">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113361</a>. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113361 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder. | |
| dc.subject | representation | |
| dc.subject | gender | |
| dc.subject | legislatures | |
| dc.subject | Latin America | |
| dc.title | When Do Women Represent Women? Variation in Substantive Representation in Latin America | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | Text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Political Science | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Social Sciences | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Rice University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy |
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