WHEN DOES HE SPEAK FOR SHE? MEN REPRESENTING WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT By MARY K. NUGENT A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science Written under the direction of Mona Lena Krook And approved by _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION When Does He Speak for She? Men Representing Women in Parliament. by MARY K. NUGENT Dissertation Director: Mona Lena Krook This project develops our understanding of the representation of women’s interests in politics by considering the role that men can play in advancing the substantive representation of women (SRW). I draw on the case of the United Kingdom Parliament, which over the last three decades has seen significant changes in the sex balance of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons. Using quantitative analysis of two legislative activities – Early Day Motions, and the annual International Women’s Day Debates – I first establish the patterns of men’s engagement in SRW. I argue that men’s role in representation women can be understood as what I term an “ancillary representatives” for women, which is a role that draws on a vantage point not accessible to women to help advance the SRW, while also remains secondary to women’s leadership role. The role played by men remains fairly consistent over time, with some evidence of a mainstreaming of women’s issues over time as the number of women in politics ii increases. Then, using interview data from 30 original interviews with sitting MPs (both men and women) and analysis of transcripts of interviews carried out with women MPs in 2004, I develop the idea of men as ancillary representatives by showing that they see themselves as holding a very distinct role in the representation of women, largely as a supporter or ally for women. The findings from the interview data also reinforces and develops the existing work in the literature on women’s representation first by showing that the logic of women’s difference and the importance of life experience in shaping the perspective of women in politics also applies in the case of men; and second by showing that an additional often unseen impact of women in politics is that they have the ability to also influence their male colleagues. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the product of the support, wisdom, and generosity of countless people. First and foremost, a substantial portion of the dissertation would not have been possible without the Members of Parliament who generously took time out of their extremely busy lives to be interviewed. I was consistently surprised and delighted by how many MPs were willing to speak with me, and how open and thoughtful they were during the interviews. I especially want to thank Jess Phillips MP who was not only generous with her time and insights, but who also connected with many of her colleagues and went above and beyond in helping me understand parliament and women’s representation. Second, faculty at Rutgers, and especially those in the women and politics subfield, have provided the training, guidance, and community that has enabled the completion of this project. I have been especially fortunate to have had the guidance of an outstanding committee. From my first semester at Rutgers, Sue Carroll has offered invaluable advice, inspiration, humor, and honesty. I consider it a real privilege to have learnt from Sue – she is a brilliant scholar and I am inspired by her pioneering efforts that have made the Rutgers women and politics program, and the discipline more generally, the amazing community of scholars that it is. I also appreciate Sue’s tolerance of my printing a balloon with her face on. Dan Kelemen has been generous with his mentorship, iv the source of many extremely useful conversations, and a wonderful guide on all things European. And though not on my dissertation committee, Kira Sanbonmatsu was helpful with the development of this project in the early stages, and has been a generally wonderful presence during my graduate school years. Though an honorary rather than official member of the Rutgers women and politics community, Sarah Childs has been a wonderful outside reader. Sarah really helped the shaping of this project in its earliest stages (and provided excellent wine and food to accompany the conversation), and her practical advice and direction was key to my being able to complete my interviews in Parliament. Every aspect of my academic journey has been shaped and made so much better because of the incredible fortune of being mentored by Mona Lena Krook. I could not have asked for a more intelligent, generous, or supportive advisor. Mona has offered help and gentle encouragement at every step of this PhD process, and many of the most fulfilling and exciting aspects of my years in graduate school have been a result of working with Mona. Relatedly, Mona has been consistently generous with the time she has invested in me, and these acknowledgements would not be true to this project if I did not also recognize here that many of these investments were been made possible by Ewan Harrison – thanks for being such a great example of a HeForShe, Ewan! v The incredible faculty are a big reason why my time at Rutgers has been fulfilling and enjoyable, but my fellow graduate students have been at least as significant in my growth as a scholar and feminist. I especially want to acknowledge Bailey Socha, Cathy Wineinger, Juliana Restrepo Sanin, Sevinc Ozturk, Haley Norris, and Rebecca Kuperberg, who have provided years of support and friendship and made my time at Rutgers a joy. These friendships have given me many things including a love of knitting, motivating group chats, high quality gifs, excellent Turkish food, and the sharing of ice cream on multiple continents. I especially want to thank Juliana for her consistent practical support with this project in particular – our weekly skype conversations may have been designed to provide semi-public shaming for each other, but they were a highlight of many weeks, and always a source of encouragement and motivation. I’ve also benefitted hugely from the network of women and politics PhD program alumni, especially Anna Mahoney and Kelly Dittmar (and the ice cream that comes with their company), who are both a delight. Outside of Rutgers, I have been amazed by the community of women and politics scholars. I am grateful to the many women (and handful of feminist men!) who have made the subfield a welcoming and inclusive space. I especially want to thank Suzanne Dovi; Suzi’s kindness and confidence in my work has been tremendously helpful. Spending 5+ years studying for a PhD, and doing so an ocean away from home, has been possible because of my incredibly loving and supportive family. My parents, vi Paddy and Anna Nugent, to whom this dissertation is dedicated, have been unendingly supportive even when the endeavor they are supporting has taken me thousands of miles away for long stretches, and seems probably all seems a little unnecessary. My parents have shown me the very best kind of love - love that is unconditional and empowering. I am grateful too to my brothers, John and Peter, who I love and admire very much. I also have a wonderful extended family; all four of my Grandparents have been especially important to me and their loving examples and commitments to social justice have been some of the best lessons I’ve learnt. I am blessed. I have also been very fortunate during the last few years to gain additional family by way of in-laws. Bill Baer, Nancy Hendry, and Andrew Baer have made me feel welcome and loved from the start, and having supportive family this side of the ocean (as well as a beautiful spot in the mountains for respite) has been a real help along the way. Finally, I am forever thankful for the patient and loving support of my fiancé Michael Baer. Michael: thank you for taking care of me and the practical things in our lives so that I could write; for being willing to discuss the concept of representation more than any person should have to; and for remaining unreasonably positive about my project. You are my favo(u)rite male ally and I am so glad we are a team. I love you. vii DEDICATION: For Mum and Dad viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ........................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. xi 1. INTRODUCTION: BRINGING MEN INTO THE SUBSTANTIVE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN .. 1 Descriptive and substantive representation of women ............................................. 3 Bringing men in ..................................................................................................... 16 Men as “Ancillary Representatives” ...................................................................... 36 The case of the UK ...............................................................................................