E-SYMPOSIUM

An Open Boundaries Workshop: Women and Politics in Comparative Perspective—Introduction

he American Political Science Associa- Ttion and Women’s Studies at the University of Delaware co-sponsored the The 2004 E-Symposium Third Japanese American Women’s Sympo- The papers presented here, a sium (JAWS) at the University of Delaware result of the extremely successful from August 24 to August 26, 2003. The Japanese American Women’s Sympo- program was supported by a grant from the sium, focus a fascinating lens on the Japan-United States Friendship Commis- study of women and politics both in sion and the University of Delaware’s the United States and in Japan. More College of Arts and Science, Office of so, the lens casts the light of compari- International Programs, Department of son on the very different, and very Political Science, and Women’s Studies. similar, issues affecting women in The seven Japanese and seven American politics in both countries. scholars of women and politics who To better present current research participated in this symposium spent three in the timeliest of fashions, PS brings days considering similarities and differ- its readership the e-symposium. This ences in political participation and the format provides our readers with the effects of this participation on public most current research on women and policy decision making in the U.S. and in politics in the United States and Japan. This is the group’s third meeting. Japan, research that, due to typical The first meeting was publication deadlines for the tradi- held in August 2000 at by tional journal format, would other- American University in wise not be available to the scholarly Marian Lief Palley, conjunction with the community for several more months. University of Delaware APSA’s Annual Meeting The following abstracted articles in Washington D.C. and can be accessed whole at the APSA was coordinated by web site, www.apsanet.org/Jan04/. Karen O’Connor. In August 2002, the scholars reconvened in Japan where they met and lectured to community groups in Tokyo, Tsu City, and Sapporo. This year, the program was held in conjunction with the APSA’s Annual Meeting in Philadelphia and was coordinated by Marian Lief Palley, professor of political science and director of Women’s Studies at the University of Delaware. The grant from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission was facilitated by the APSA, especially by Deputy Director Robert J-P. Hauck. Chieko Kitagawa Otsuru, Tokuku Ogai, M. Margaret Conway, Michele Swers, and Melissa Deckman wrote papers that focus on women’s political participation in local venues in Japan and the United States. Masako Aiuchi, Yoshie Kobyashi, Julie Dolan, Barbara Palmer, and Dennis Simon contributed papers that focus more directly on non- local elections in both nations. Misako Iwamoto, Hiromi Tanaka, Chiharu Takenaka, Joyce Gelb, and Marian Lief Palley each considered a public policy that had a specific impact on women in their respective nations.

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 57 Online Article Abstracts

Incorporating Gender essential distinction between mascu- tempts to implement genuine social Equality at Local Politics: linity and femininity are inconsistent change through the enactment of gen- with the spirit of gender equality. The der-equal ordinances could be futile. A Case of Toyonaka Japanese public’s low level of interest The fundamental task, it seems, is to —Chieko Kitagawa Otsuru in, and understanding of, issues con- make the concept of gender more Kansai University cerning gender created an opportunity widely understood among the popula- for conservatives to dilute the effec- tion at large, not just among certain his paper examines the develop tiveness of gender-equal ordinances by interested individuals, and to redefine

Tment of gender-equality policy in inserting gender-specific language. women’s issues as issues critical to ev- https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003658

. . the City of Toyonaka and compares it Not only is the concept confusing to ery member of society. to policy development at the national the general public, but the basic struc- and prefectural levels to illustrate how ture of society is still based on uncon- the concept of gender is being incor- scious assumptions about rigid gender porated into local politics. My analy- roles that are accepted by a large por- Advance of Japanese sis reveals the importance of focusing tion of the population, including on the local political process to under- women. Furthermore, conservatives Women in Politics: The stand and promote gender equality in have successfully used the tactic of General Local Election of Japan. dividing women into opposing camps 2003 The national government passed the and encouraging one group to contest Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society gender-free policies by portraying —Tokuko Ogai, https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms in 1999. Corresponding to this devel- them as threatening to female identity Ochanomizu University opment, and reflecting the general and family life. trend in Japanese politics to promote The outcome of local debates over fter Japan held the Fifteenth bottom-up local initiatives, prefectural the use of gender-free language de- AGeneral Local Election on April and local governments were encour- pends partly on how well women’s per- 13 and 27, 2003, the percentage of aged to develop their own ordinances spectives were represented on the lo- women in local assemblies increased to reflect the spirit of this act accord- cal councils responsible for writing the from 5.4% to 8.8%. Although young ing to the conditions of each local com- ordinances. The lack of women’s rep- male candidates also increased their munity. To date, 142 local governments resentation in the conservative parties political representation in this elec- and all but five prefectural govern- is quite striking at the local political tion, this paper focuses on the women ments have enacted ordinances, some level, and even when local ordinances who ran as Independent candidates. In- of which were in effect as early as April were passed without including a mas- dependents make up the largest group 2000. culine-feminine clause, the pro-inclu- of women elected to local assemblies A close examination of a gender- sion arguments attracted little criticism in the 2003 election. equal society was influential in the during the sessions. Survey results in- My research indicates that there

, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , implementation of gender-equal poli- dicate that women and men differ in were three distinct pools of women can- cies at the local level. Those prefec- their perceptions of women’s slow ad- didates—the political group, tures that developed policies early on, vancement in the political arena. Al- Seikatsusha Nettowaaku, or Consum- such as Saitama and Yamaguchi, closely though women are more sensitive than ers’ Network (Netto hereafter); partici- followed the language of the national men to the effect of gender role atti- pants from the political training pro- Basic Law; however, latecomers were tudes on women’s low representation, grams known as “Back-up Schools”; more likely to either specifically ac- women also report that women are and the relatively new local govern- 06 Nov 2017 at 22:13:29 at 2017 Nov 06 knowledge manhood and womanhood poorly represented because they are ment program designed to raise

, on on , in the ordinance language, or to have “no positive enough.” This self-criti- women’s political interest and involve- the whole process of enactment delayed cism may be a product of exposure to ment, the Simulation Women’s Assem- due to disputes over language. Many the gendered image of women as fol- bly (SWA). The SWA is of particular

73.14.13.212 local councils have responded to po- lowers. interest because it appears to be an litical pressure imposed on them be a Given the slow speed at which per- important new mechanism for promot- national movement opposed to the ba- ceptions of dichotomous gender role ing women’s election to local assem- sic idea of gender equality. This con- change, it seems more, rather than less, blies in rural towns and villages, where . IP address: address: IP . servative movement regards the Basic important to work toward embracing women’s representation is considerably Law for a Gender Equal Society as a gender-free ideology. Attempts by con- lower than in cities. radical attempt to d-gender Japanese servatives to reverse the trend toward Netto, which was founded in Tokyo society. women’s advancement in society in the in 1977, originated from the COOP If we accept the definition of gender name of Japanese tradition and culture collective purchase consumer move- as the imposition of socially con- have resulted in considerable backlash ment, or Seikatsu Club Cooperative. By structed differences on individuals, against the gender-equality movement. April 2003, Netto had produced 144 rather than as an immutable character- Because advocates for gender-equal female local assembly members. Ac- istic inherently attached to biological policies lack adequate resources to cording to Netto’s basic philosophy, https://www.cambridge.org/core sex, then clauses acknowledging an counter conservative activities, at- elected representatives are there by

58 PS January 2004 Downloaded from from Downloaded “proxy of the citizens”; thus, each seat assembly hall, select a chairperson, and the large number of open seats due to belongs to the citizens, not to indi- conduct a mock session. In the 2003 redistricting and congressional retire- vidual office holders. This results in election, participation in SWA gave ments, strong anti-incumbency senti- each political position being trans- women who had been working as vol- ments among voters combined with ferred to another member after eight or unteers in their communities the op- public perceptions of female candi- 12 years. Netto also requires assembly portunity to secure the approval of lo- dates as honest outsiders, and women’s members to share their salaries with the cal bosses, who have considerable in- perceived strengths in dealing with is- organization, which means that repre- fluence over the nomination process in sues on the national agenda such as sentatives do not have to fund their own small towns and villages. The women sexual harassment and health care re-elections, because Netto uses the candidates’ competence was publicly (Palley 1993). pooled salary money to pay its mem- confirmed in the widely distributed In 2002, redistricting once again cre- bers’ campaign expenses. government newsletters that provided ated a healthy number of open seats, Most Netto members were initially coverage of the SWA sessions, which but voters seemed less bothered by wives and mothers concerned with revealed that women possess the inter- ‘politics as usual’ than in 1992 and quality of life issues such as garbage est, dedication, and skills to serve as stereotypically masculine issues such

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003658 recycling. Participation in COOP ac- elected officials. as terrorism and the impending war . . tivities and community-based volun- This paper identifies the primary fac- with Iraq topped the national agenda. teer work raised these housewives’ po- tors supporting women’s recent politi- Not surprisingly, female candidates did litical consciousness. As women began cal advancement. More women are de- less well in 2002 than in 1992. Why is winning elections to public office, they manding that they be represented in this the case? found themselves responsible for both government, and more women who are This paper provides an overview of domestic work and their new political interested in politics now have the op- the 2002 congressional elections, ex- roles. This experience shifted their con- portunity to receive the training they amining three questions in particular. cerns from matters of daily community need to run for office. As it becomes First, did women run disproportion- life to women’s issues. less exceptional for women to run for ately as sacrificial lambs, or in districts When a woman wants to see more office, and women develop more ex- where they had no realistic chance of

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms women in political office, she either tensive networks, it becomes easier for winning? Second, how successful were needs to run herself or identify another women candidates to receive the sup- female candidates in raising campaign woman candidate to support. The port they need to win elections. A sec- funds in 2002? Finally, did women’s “Back-up Schools,” established in the ond condition supporting women’s campaign slogans convey an image of 1990s to train women in the election political advancement is the public’s tough, aggressive women ready to process, help women develop knowl- growing distrust of established politi- tackle the nation’s problems or did they edge, skills, and political networks that cal parties during this period of eco- stick to touting more stereotypically support their ability to get elected. One nomic stagnation. With the demo- feminine traits and areas of policy ex- of the most outstanding Back-up graphic composition of Japan shifting pertise in their campaign communica- Schools in Japan is the one sponsored due to a low birth rate and an aging tions? by the Fusae Ichikawa Memorial Asso- population, there has been an increase In almost all respects, female con- ciation (FIMA) in Tokyo. Over 300 in diverse lifestyles. More people are gressional candidates fared as well as women from all over Japan attended choosing to vote for candidates who similarly situated male candidates in FIMA programs from 1994 to 2002, represent alternatives to the status quo, 2002. They faced similar competition including incumbent assemblywomen, namely women, young men, and non- in their primary election bids, won would-be candidates, and campaign partisan candidates. Furthermore, men their primary races at rates comparable , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , managers. Because more than 80% of are increasingly retreating from the to their male colleagues, raised more candidates trained there have won elec- political arena because the profitabil- money than male candidates, on aver- tions, most on modest budgets, FIMA ity of holding office has declined. This age, and had similar success rates in has attracted considerable public atten- is a golden opportunity for women to November. The only area where female tion. When these candidates won their challenge the old boys’ political net- candidates did less well than male can- elections, most became the first woman work. didates was in competing for open

06 Nov 2017 at 22:13:29 at 2017 Nov 06 to serve on the local assembly, or at seats, and here their success rates were

, on on , least the first woman running as Inde- significantly lower than men’s and no- pendent. As feminists or alternative ticeably lower than women’s success candidates who oppose the status quo, Women Running for rates in the 1992 congressional elec- these representatives are often isolated Congress: An Overview of tions. While women won 56.4% of their 73.14.13.212 in the assembly. Although they work the 2002 Elections open seat contests in 1992, they were hard making speeches, distributing successful in only 31.3% of these elec- political information to their commu- —Julie Dolan tions in 2002 (CAWP 2002).

. IP address: address: IP . nities, and performing their other du- Macalester University Without public opinion data, it is ties, it is difficult for these “lone sheep” premature to conclude that the politi- to maintain their seats in the local as- edia commentators and political cal climate and influence of voter ste- semblies. Mscientists alike referred to the reotypes sunk women’s candidacies in The goal of the Simulation Women’s 1992 elections as ‘The Year of the 2002. The bulk of existing research on Assemblies (SWA) held by local gov- Woman’ because of the unprecedented voter stereotypes hints that such a fac- ernments is to promote women’s par- numbers of women running in and win- tor may have mattered, though ticipation in the political decision- ning congressional elections. Women’s (Alexander and Andersen 1993; making process. On the day the SWA is remarkable successes in that year have Mueller 1986; Rosenwasser and Seale https://www.cambridge.org/core held, participants meet in the formal been attributed to a variety of factors: 1988; Sanbonmatsu 2002; Sapiro

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 59 Downloaded from from Downloaded 1981–1982). And it does not appear portion of either men or women report in 14 of the 100 largest (CAWP 2003b). that female candidates in 2002 congres- participating in a protest or demonstra- In 2002, women served as mayors in sional races went to any special lengths tion.1 206 cities with a population greater to assuage voter stereotypes by tout- than 30,000, or 17% of the cities of ing their own masculine traits and ca- Holding Elective and Appointive Of- that size. In comparison, in 1977, 6.2% pabilities. A cursory look at the cam- fices and Trends in Office Holding of cities of that size had women may- paign slogans used by women and men To what extent do women seek elec- ors, and by 1997, 20.6% of cities of in the 2002 congressional elections tive office at the state and local level? that size had women mayors (Costello, demonstrate that both sexes used sex- How successful are they in winning Miles, and Stone 1998, 361, Table 8.3). role appropriate slogans most of the office? What are the trends in holding One hypothesis explaining patterns time.1 Neither sex emphasized their state or local elective office? Women’s of state and local office holding is the leadership over military issues or de- representation in state legislatures has desirability thesis: “The higher the fense policy, but women more often increased substantially since 1973. In level of office and the more power the included the words families or values that year, women held 5.6% of state office has, the less likely a woman is to in their campaign slogan while men legislative seats. Prior to the 2002 elec- be elected” (Darcy, Welch, and Clark

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003671 more often stressed their leadership and tion women held 22.7% of state legis- 1994, 44). Support for that explanation . . strength. Thus, female candidates did lative seats, while in 2003 they held is provided by research on the types of not fashion campaign slogans to 22.3% (CAWP 2003a). In 2002, 501 cities in which women serve as mayors counter voter stereotypes, but instead women were candidates in state senate or city council members. Women are stuck to emphasizing stereotypically races and 58.3% were elected. In that more likely to serve as mayors in cities feminine policy issues and personal- same year, 1,843 women were candi- in which the post is part-time and more ity traits on the campaign trail. dates for state house seats and 61.7% likely to be city council members in were elected. Women’s electoral suc- cities with large councils, those which cess in state legislative contests var- do not pay council members, or those Women’s Political ied substantially from state to state with term limits for city council mem- Participation at the State (CAWP 2003d; 2003e; 2003f). with bers (MacManus and Bullock 1996). https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms and Local Level in the incumbency playing a very important The proportion of county level and United States role in electoral success. In the 2002 school board offices held by women elections to the lower chamber of state has increased substantially, with the —M. Margaret Conway, legislatures, 94% of the women incum- proportion of county commissioner University of Florida bents seeking re-election won and 75% posts growing from 3% in 1975 to 24% of the women elected were incumbents. in 1998. The proportion of school In state senate elections, 95% of the board positions held by women rose n the United States, approximately women running for re-election won and from 25.7% in 1978 to 44% in 1997 I550,000 offices are filled through the 77% of the women elected were incum- (MacManus et al. 1999). electoral process, with only 537 of bents (CAWP 2003d; 2003e; 2003f). those being at the federal level. How- Other explanations for patterns of Discussion ever, research focuses primarily on women’s representation in state legis- In both 2000 and 2002 women were forms of participation related to fed- latures focus on differences in the less likely than men to engage in sev- eral level politics. At the state level, states’ political cultures, the use of eral forms of non-electoral political research has emphasized electoral con- multi-member legislative districts activity. Why might women participate tests for state executive offices and leg- (Rule 1999), and the candidate pool, less? The social context of women’s , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , islatures. Given the policy making, with increased proportions of women lives may limit their opportunities to implementation, and enforcement re- in the workforce and in professional participate, with family and work re- sponsibilities of state, local, and spe- occupations being related to increased sponsibilities restricting the time avail- cial district units of government, more representation of women in state legis- able for political activities. attention to patterns of participation latures (Ford and Dolan 1999). Turning to serving in elective office, at state and local levels is warranted. Women have less frequently held the proportion of offices, such as state-

06 Nov 2017 at 22:13:29 at 2017 Nov 06 The paper summarized here examines executive offices at the state and local wide elected officials, state legislators,

, on on , rates of women candidates’ electoral level. Six women served as state gov- and mayors, held by women increased success in 2002 and trends in women’s ernors in 2003. Only 24 women have from the 1960s to the late 1990s or success in winning elections as well as ever held the post of governor, with 16 2000. By 2002, however, the propor- the mass public’s participation in non- elected in their own right, three replac- tion of state legislators who were 73.14.13.212 electoral political activities. ing their husbands, and five succeed- women decreased, as did the propor- ing to the governorship under consti- tion of mayoral offices held by women. Participation in Non-Electoral Forms tutional provisions. Women have been Why? In the case of state legislators,

. IP address: address: IP . of Political Activity more successful in obtaining election two factors appear to be at work. One is Are women more or less likely than to other state-wide offices. Of the 273 the effect of term limits. Research in- men to engage in non-electoral politi- state-wide elected offices other than dicates that women legislators forced cal activities? In both 2000 and 2002 governors, women held 27.3% in 2003 from office by term limits are not be- women were less likely than men to (CAWP 2003b; 2003c). ing replaced by other women (Carroll work with others on local community Women are more likely to seek and and Jenkins 2002). Obviously, term issues, to express their views on a pub- to be elected to local offices at the city limits remove the effect of incumbency. lic issue to public officials, and to at- and county levels. Of the 243 cities A second factor may be the required tend a meeting about a school or com- with a population over 100,000, women redistricting of state legislative dis- https://www.cambridge.org/core munity issue. Only a very small pro- served as mayors in 37 and as mayors tricts. Those districts may have been

60 PS January 2004 Downloaded from from Downloaded drawn to benefit candidates of one A closer look at the 1992 and 2002 political recruitment. In their study of party, and that party may have been less elections reveals the strong intercon- state term limits, Carroll and Jenkins likely to support the nomination and nection between political and struc- (2001) note that women have made election of women to the state legisla- tural factors. In 1992, the political con- some gains at the state senate level tures. text strongly favored women as both because there exists a pool of term-lim- the national campaigns focused on the ited or other sitting female state house domestic issues, particularly health members ready to run for senate. How- Whatever Happened to care, on which voters prefer female can- ever, there is no clear pipeline of can- the Year of the Woman: didates. Additionally, the Clarence didates for state house seats Thomas-Anita Hill hearings high- In addition to the individual level Lessons from the 1992 lighted the issue of sexual harassment factors that influence political recruit- and 2002 Elections and the paucity of women in Congress, ment, scholarship must devote more —Michele Swers, allowing many women candidates to attention to the differing fortunes of Georgetown University explicitly raise the need for more women candidates within the Repub- women in Congress as an issue in their lican and Democratic parties. Many

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003671 campaign. In 1992, women were able have noted that 1992 was really the . . to capitalize on a favorable political “Year of the Democratic Woman.” he labeling of the 1992 elections environment created through census- Palmer and Simon (2001) maintain that Tas the “Year of the Woman” created year redistricting combined with an the number of women candidates in the expectation that women had finally increased number of strategic retire- Democratic and Republican primary breached the political glass ceiling and ments in response to scandal, leading and general election races began to were on the path to making the elec- to an unusually large number, 93, of diverge in the late 1980s. Additionally, toral gains that would lead to repre- open-seat congressional races (Palmer Carroll (2002) finds that while the Re- sentation of women in the nation’s and Simon 2001, Swers 2002). publican Party has made great gains governing bodies that approaches par- In contrast, the 2002 elections of- across state legislatures, the proportion ity with men. Since that banner year, fered women candidates neither a fa- of female legislators who are Republi-

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms the progress of women in elections has vorable political context nor an advan- cans has actually declined over time. continued at a slow pace. By examin- tageous structural environment. The Research is needed to clarify whether ing the political and structural contexts focus on the war on terrorism and the women are disadvantaged in the Re- of the 1992 and 2002 elections, I evalu- impending war with Iraq focused vot- publican Party because of a bias among ate the major barriers to the advance- ers’ attention on stereotypically male a more socially conservative primary ment of women in office and provide a issues, requiring female candidates to voting base, bias among party elites window on the future for women in elec- work harder to establish credibility in who recruit candidates, or a lack of toral politics. these areas. Despite the status of 2002 quality candidates willing to emerge The scholarship on women and elec- as a redistricting year, few open seats, from the pipeline. The concentration toral politics has highlighted both 49, were created as most states drew of women in one party can have detri- structural and political factors as in- incumbent protection plans (Giroux mental effects on women’s influence on hibiting women’s advancement in elec- 2002). Although an increasing number the political agenda when the oppos- toral office. At the structural level, re- of state legislators were term limited ing party controls the majority in the searchers find that women raise as out of office, the number of women in legislative body. much money and win legislative seats state legislatures declined slightly at the state and national level as often from 22.7% in 2002 to 22.3% in 2003 , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , as men in similar, challenger v. incum- (Center for the American Woman and bent, and open-seat races (Burrell Politics 2003). A predicted “Year of the 1994). Therefore, the incumbency ad- Women Running Locally: Woman Governor” did not materialize How Gender Affects vantage is viewed as the major struc- as the number of female governors ad- tural barrier to the advancement of vanced from only five to six. School Board Elections women in American politics. Sugges- The investigation of the political and —Melissa Deckman, 06 Nov 2017 at 22:13:29 at 2017 Nov 06 tions for structural reform range from structural elements of the 1992 and the adoption of proportional represen- Washington College , on on , 2002 elections highlights several im- tation to increased recruitment of portant areas for future research in or- women for open-seat races and the ex- der to discern the nature of the barriers olitical scientists who study pansion of term limits at the state level. to women’s advancement in political Pwomen and politics have long 73.14.13.212 With regard to the political context, office and the actions needed to in- recognized that the number of women research on voter attitudes and stereo- crease women’s representation. First, serving in higher political office will types demonstrates that voters view research is needed to clarify the condi- increase only if there are more qualified women to run for these . IP address: address: IP . female candidates as more compassion- tions in which voter stereotypes impact ate and willing to compromise and votes, the decisions of political elites positions. Substantial gains by they favor women on issues such as to recruit women, and the political cal- women candidates at the local level, education and health care while they culus of individuals concerning it is argued, will pump the political rate male candidates as more capable whether to run. Additionally, to take pipeline, providing more women with of handling the economy, foreign af- advantage of the structural opportuni- political experience to run for higher fairs, and military crises (Huddy and ties that result from open seats and the offices. Yet, is school board office in Terkildsen 1993a, 1993b; Burrell 1994; expansion of term limits in the state reality part of the political pipeline Sanbonmatsu 2002). However, the legislatures, scholars need to gain a for most citizens who seek it? Or, is https://www.cambridge.org/core mechanisms by which these stereotypes better understanding of the process of school board service viewed more impact actual votes are unclear.

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 61 Downloaded from from Downloaded along the lines of community school board position, which suggests Harumi Takahashi, during the 15th Gen- service? This question has important that family obligations weigh heavier eral Local Election. She became the gender implications. As women are on the minds of women candidates. In- fourth female governor in Japan, fol- more likely to serve at the school deed, women are more likely than men lowing those governors elected in board level than in any other level of to say that having children in the Osaka, Kumamoto, and Chiba. The government, whether or not they see schools is what prompted their deci- election of a female governor is quite a school board service as the first step sion to run for school board in the first recent phenomenon in Japan, and there in a longer political career has place. are both similarities and differences in serious consequences for the political This study finds that other important the political conditions that supported pipeline argument. Is service on the gender dimensions exist when it comes this development in each prefecture. school board more likely to be to political ambition. Men are signifi- Recent efforts to devolve power from viewed as a stepping stone by cantly more likely than women to say the national government have in- women, perhaps because it is more that they run for school board with the creased the power and responsibility accessible to them than other offices, hope of both gaining political experi- of the prefectural governments in gen- than by men? Or do women view ence as well as affecting local educa- eral, and of governors specifically.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003701 school board service as a separate tion policy. Women, meanwhile, are Both constituencies and political sci- . . track altogether? At the heart of this more likely to indicate that the social entists are concerned with whether issue is political ambition and reasons, such as working with like- women will make a difference as gov- whether men and women run for minded individuals on a school board, ernors during this critical period. This political office for different reasons. are what propelled their decision to paper examines Harumi Takahashi’s The data for this study come from a become school board candidates. In election as Hokkaido governor, focus- cross-sectional, national survey of some ways, these findings run counter ing on the political party’s recruiting school board candidates drawn from a to other work on political ambition and process as well as the campaign strate- random sample of school districts that higher political office, in which the gies used by her followers. This cam- I conducted in 1998 (N=671; 55% re- “ambition gap” appears to be closing paign, like many others, raised the sponse rate). I find that among the re- between men and women and that question of whether a candidate’s gen-

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms spondents to the national survey, 38% women are even more likely than men der should be emphasized to appeal to were women, which is close to the na- to say that issues are what matter in voters. tional average of women currently serv- their decisions to become engaged in Nine people, two of them women, ing on school boards. In many ways, politics. campaigned for the office of governor women and men candidates are similar Of course, the findings from this of Hokkaido. In the beginning of the in terms of their socioeconomic back- study might demonstrate that school campaign, Takahashi and her follow- grounds. Women school board candi- board elections are a unique case when ers were reluctant to emphasize her dates (23%), however, are almost twice compared to other sorts of elections. gender. The other female candidate, as likely as men candidates (12%) to While men are more likely than women Takako Itoh, was a former Diet member come from a professional education to say that gaining political experience and third-time challenger in the background, which is consistent with for a run for higher office was impor- governor’s race who chose to target the previous studies on the background of tant in their decision to become a general public and not take up femi- school board members. Of all survey school board candidate, the fact re- nist issues. When several opinion polls respondents, 62% won their races. mains that relatively few men or women showed voters were dissatisfied with When broken down by gender, women feel that this reason was important. the candidates’ vague policy perspec- candidates won 65% of their races, Both men and women are more likely tives, Takahashi’s camp swiftly , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , compared with 61% of men—a differ- to indicate that social and community changed its strategy, specifically tak- ence that is not statistically significant. reasons are what prompted their candi- ing up women’s issues to target female Moreover, when additional controls are dacies. Although men may be more voters. In her manifest, Takahashi tried introduced in a logistic regression ready than women to use school boards to distinguish herself from other can- analysis, gender remains insignificant as the first step in their political pipe- didates by declaring she would develop (instead, incumbency is the major ex- line, the chances of candidates of ei- legislation to support child rearing and

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:32 at 2017 Nov 06 planatory variable in predicting the ther sex doing so are slim. Those indi- give financial aid to women entrepre-

, on on , success of school board candidates). viduals who wish to recruit well quali- neurs. However, women candidates do fare fied women (or men) to run for higher The exit poll showed that the major- better in at-large elections than men, political office may wish to do so from ity of women voted for male candi- which is not surprising given that pre- other arenas besides school boards. dates; thus, the candidate’s gender did 73.14.13.212 vious research indicates that there is a not have a strong impact on voter tendency for women to be elected in choice in the Hokkaido governor’s “at-large” or multi-member district race. Takahashi failed to mobilize

. IP address: address: IP . elections at both the municipal and The Governor’s Race in women partly because her career as an state legislative level. Hokkaido: The Election of elite bureaucrat and her affiliation with Although women are just as likely a Female Governor and a conservative party gave many femi- as men to win when they decide to be- its Impact nists the impression that she was sim- come school board candidates, men and ply “a man with a skirt on.” Ultimately, women appear to weigh different fac- —Masako Aiuchi, Takahashi’s victory was brought about tors in their decision to run for school Hokkaido Asaigakuen University by the Clean Party’s decision to en- board. Women are more likely than men dorse her at virtually the last moment to rely on the encouragement of fam- of the race.

https://www.cambridge.org/core n April 2003, Hokkaido voters ily and friends before they seek out a Ielected their first female governor,

62 PS January 2004 Downloaded from from Downloaded Takahashi’s campaign drew consid- tinctive features: appointment as a lieu- ally represent women, particularly be- erable media attention because both her tenant governor and elite status in the cause electing women to the governor’s background and the recruiting process ministries of the central government. office is such a recent phenomenon in employed led Hokkaido voters to re- Both Ohta of Osaka and Shiotani of Japan. call the successful campaign of Fusae Kumamoto were lieutenant governors Ohta of Osaka, the first female gover- before they were elected governors. nor in Japan. Like Tokahashi, Ohta was Shiotani moved directly from one of- Has the Closed Door a career bureaucrat, and being an elite fice to the other in the same prefectural Opened for Women? The METI woman had a strong impact on government, whereas Ohta served as Appointment of Women the recruiting process in both cases. lieutenant governor in the prefecture Ministers in Japan Fusae Ohta was elected following her of Okayama before being elected as predecessor’s resignation due to a governor of Osaka. Lieutenant gover- —Yoshie Kobayashi sexual harassment scandal involving norship seems to grant women running University of Hawaii, Manoa one of his campaign workers. In that for governor greater credibility. The race, the political parties carefully cal- METI that sent Ohta and Takahashi to hen Prime Minister Koizumi

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003701 culated the anti-male and anti-popu- the governor’s office serves as a mecha- Junichiro appointed five women . . W list sentiments among Osaka voters. nism for career women interested in ministers to his cabinet, the decision Japan’s second female governor, politics to gain access to political of- not only surprised the Japanese, but Yoshiko Shiotani, was elected in the fice. also foreign observers who had criti- prefecture of Kumamoto in April 2000, That people with elite status in the cized the nation for its dearth of women two months after Ohta’s election in ministries of central government com- in politics. His appointments increased Osaka. Shiotani was the lieutenant prise an eligibility pool for governor the representation of women ministers governor of Kumamoto before her elec- is true for both women and men seek- to 22%, the highest in Japanese politi- tion as governor. Unlike Osha and ing governorship in Japan. It is pos- cal history. Takahashi, Shiotani did not come from sible that the increased entry of women Because backlash against the gen- an eligibility pool comprised of career into a nontraditional sphere such as der equality policy is widespread, it is

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms elites. When the incumbent governor central bureaucracy, and their subse- unlikely that the increase of the num- suddenly passed away, the local politi- quent promotion to the executive po- ber of women ministers resulted from cal network asked Shiotani, a devout sition, will enhance women’s political social demand or the rectification of Christian with many years of service recruitment, thus promoting their en- gender inequality in Japan. This paper in the welfare institution, to run for try into the even more untraditional addresses the question of why, despite office. Although she ran as an indepen- sphere of the governor’s office. the antagonistic political situation in dent, Shiotani had the endorsement of There are also similarities in the elec- 2001, Prime Minister Koizumi ap- the conservative LDP and the Clean toral settings in which Ohta, Shiotani, pointed five women to the cabinet. In Party. The extensive involvement of Domoto and Takahashi entered the this paper, I consider the likelihood of community and women’s organizations governor’s office. These women ran for the number of women ministers increas- in her campaign contributed to her office in the context of a male-domi- ing, or at least remaining stable, in the landslide victory. nated political culture, sometimes dur- near future. I also discuss those factors Akiko Domoto was elected in Chiba ing crises caused by their male prede- that both promote and hinder the ap- in March 2001, making her the third cessors. For example, there was a sexual pointment of women ministers in post- female governor in Japan. She was the harassment scandal in Osaka, a sudden war Japan, including legal restrictions first woman governor who ran and won death in Kumamoto, corruption in on appointment and the history and , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , the election as a real independent, that Chiba, and extreme distrust of the pre- conditions under which women minis- is, without receiving the endorsement fectural government in Hokkaido. Al- ters have been appointed in Japan. of any major political party. Her suc- though the candidate’s gender did not The first hypothesis I examine is that cess can be partly attributed to the ac- seem to have a discernible impact on the more women there are in the Diet, tive involvement of women’s rights or- voter choice, women candidates pro- the more likely it is that the number of ganizations and other civic groups in vided a compelling alternative to “poli- women ministers will increase. My

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:32 at 2017 Nov 06 her campaign. Although Domoto did tics as usual” in these gubernatorial analysis indicates that although an in-

, on on , not serve as lieutenant governor, she elections, at least from the perspective crease in women Diet members may was formerly a member of the House of of the candidates’ recruiters. help increase the appointment of Councilors. As the head of the small The four women governors recently women ministers, it is neither a neces- political party, Sakigake, she had been developed a proposal to the Japanese sary precondition for their appointment 73.14.13.212 championing women’s causes, human government calling for more effective nor an inevitable consequence of rights, and environmental issues, was enforcement of the “Violence Against women’s increased representation in well known by Chiba voters, and often Women Act.” The jointly submitted the two legislative houses.

. IP address: address: IP . appeared on television. Feminists and proposal suggests that women gover- My second hypothesis suggests that other activists evaluated Domoto’s per- nors are united in their defense of the male-oriented political recruitment formance highly, so when she decided women’s rights and protection of process hinders women’s ability to be to run for governor to challenge the women’s interests as women, thus im- appointed to the cabinet. The data re- male- and money-dominated political plying that “women represent women.” veal that women Diet members were ap- culture of Chiba, she could reasonably Although Takahashi and other women pointed to the cabinet most often, but expect moral and practical support in political office regularly face this there was also a notable increase in the from women and younger people. common assumption during their ten- number of women cabinet members With the exception of Domoto, fe- ure, further research is needed to deter- appointed in the 1990s and 2000s who https://www.cambridge.org/core male governors in Japan have two dis- mine whether women governors actu- were ex-bureaucrats. In general, women

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 63 Downloaded from from Downloaded Diet members lack the type of politi- ters a period of change, in which the in 1974 (Davis 1991, 108). The “small- cal experience, career length, and pa- positions of the parties become clearly scale disruptive actions” of the 1960s tronage necessary to secure appoint- defined. In other words, in the wake of were being replaced by mass marches, ments as ministers. One way for a the critical moment, the parties take a such as the 10,000 demonstrators who woman to compensate for these defi- side. Subsequently, the parties’ posi- paraded down New York’s Fifth Av- ciencies is to have experience as a gov- tions become polarized over time. As enue to mark the 50th Anniversary of ernment officer; in fact, women who are Carmines and Stimson (1989) demon- the passage of the 19th Amendment former bureaucrats and have strong ties strate, this crystallization and polariza- (Costain 1992, 2). January of 1970 also to particular types of organizations are tion between the parties can be seen marked the beginning of “the grand most likely to be appointed to the Cabi- among various party elites and the mass press blitz.” For the next three months, net. public.1 almost every major media outlet in the My final hypothesis is that if a Carmines and Stimson (1989) use American press featured stories on the woman-friendly political opportunity this theory to explore the issue of race women’s movement (Costain 1992). In structure exists, the number of women and its impact on American political addition, during the 93rd Congress ministers will increase. One such struc- parties and racial policy. In this paper, (1973–1974), Congress passed the larg-

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003725 ture might be a left-wing administra- we suggest that this theory can also be est number of women’s issue bills in its . . tion, which tends to appoint more applied to gender issues by exploring history (Costain 1992, 10). “Women’s women to high status positions than a variety of policies, the integration of liberation became the latest fad ” (Free- does a right-wing administration. My women into the political system, and man 1975, 148). examination of the political character- the links between the parties and the During this three-year period, the istics of the prime ministers and admin- mass public. Prior to the 1960s, sup- Equal Rights Amendment also at- istrations under which women minis- port for gender issues did not split tracted widespread publicity and was ters were appointed revealed support along easily identifiable party lines. given serious attention in Congress. As for the political opportunity structure But in the wake of a “critical moment” Boles (1979, 38) explains, 1970 was a hypothesis. I conclude that Prime Min- in the early 1970s, the positions of the “pivotal year in the ERA’s legislative ister Koizumi Junichiro was able to parties on issues of gender polarized, history.” By this time, a consensus had

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms appoint five women ministers because and clear ideological divisions devel- been reached on the ERA, even among he is a minority in the LDP and lacks a oped among party elites, party activ- labor groups (Mansbridge 1986). After strong power base in the party. More ists, and the mass public. a series of set backs and procedural importantly, he appointed them as a In general, prior to the 1960s, issues maneuvers, Congress finally passed the way to distinguish himself from incum- of gender were not clearly partisan is- ERA in 1972 with bipartisan majori- bent LDP representatives and win popu- sues (see Wolbrecht 2000). The history ties and sent it to the states for ratifica- lar approval as a “liberal” and “uncor- of the Equal Rights Amendment, for tion (see Mansbridge 1986; Boles rupted” politician. example, is a good example of this and 1979). By the end of 1973, 28 states how even women’s rights groups were had ratified with lopsided bipartisan split over the issue.2 In 1921, Alice votes in favor (Boles 1979, Table 1.2). Paul, the head of the National Woman’s As with civil rights, issues of gender Gender, Party and Party, drafted a version of an Equal became increasingly partisan and po- Political Change: The Rights Amendment (ERA), which was larized in the wake of this critical mo- introduced in Congress in 1923. It was, ment. Congress cleared the ERA in Evolution of a Democratic however, immediately opposed by la- 1972 with a ratification deadline of

Advantage bor unions and other progressive orga- seven years. After the initial rush of , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , —Barbara Palmer, nizations, including Florence Kelly’s states, however, ratification all but American University Washington National Consumer League (NCL). stalled, and serious grassroots opposi- Semester Program Kelly opposed the ERA because it tion was mobilized. Over the next four —Dennis Simon, would threaten the maximum hour and years, only five more states would Southern Methodist University minimum wage laws for women for ratify, and all of these votes were much which the NCL had fought hard (see closer (Boles 1979, Table 1.1). As the

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:33 at 2017 Nov 06 Mansbridge 1986; O’Connor 1980). By ratification deadline approached, 35

, on on , n this preliminary analysis, we 1940, however, the Republican Party states had ratified, but approval by the Iapply the theory of issue evolution adopted the ERA as a plank in its plat- three additional states needed for the developed by Carmines and Stimson form. The Democrats followed suit in 3/4 majority was looking bleak. A to the politics of gender (1989). Issue 1944 (Mansbridge 1986, 9). Although number of states also asserted the pre- 73.14.13.212 evolutions involve issues “capable of women’s rights were not a priority for rogative of rescinding their vote for rati- altering the political environment . . . President Kennedy, in 1961, he did cre- fication. Proponents of the ERA then and the party system from which they ate the Commission on the Status of introduced a resolution to extend the

. IP address: address: IP . emerged” (1989, 11). Most relevant for Women (see Davis 1991; Harrison deadline for ratification to June 30, our purposes is the idea that the posi- 1988). 1982. In contrast to the initial passage tions of American political parties on We argue that the critical moment in in the early 1970s, the congressional these issues exhibit a distinctive pat- the issue evolution of gender in Ameri- effort to extend the ratification was far tern over time. At the beginning of this can politics was from 1970 to 1973. In from bipartisan. Majorities of Demo- evolutionary process, the positions of 1970, new women’s rights organiza- crats voted against majorities of Re- the political parties are indistinct, and tions were being created faster than publicans. In the states, Democratic a particular issue area does not easily anyone could count (Freeman 1975, party leaders were now putting pres- break along partisan lines. A “critical 147–48). Membership in NOW ex- sure on state legislators to vote in fa- https://www.cambridge.org/core moment” can occur, however, that fos- ploded from 3,000 in 1970 to 50,000 vor (Mansbridge 1986, 154). In 1980,

64 PS January 2004 Downloaded from from Downloaded the Republican Party removed the ERA States. A deeper historical and more added to the penal code in 1880. In from its party platform. In spite of the rigorous statistical analysis is needed 1940, people with disabilities became extension, no additional states ratified to determine whether the dynamics of subject to forced sterilization under the the ERA, and it died in 1982. Begin- change conform to the top-down, elite- provisions of the National Eugenic Act. ning in the mid 1970s, the politics as- to-mass evolution found in the issue In 1941, the government increased re- sociated with a number of gender-based evolution of race. Ultimately, we hope strictions on abortion and birth con- issues became increasingly partisan to contribute to our understanding of trol and issued the Program on Popula- and ideological (see Wolbrecht 2000). the slow integration of women into the tion Policy to increase the size of the Based on data drawn from the Na- political system. One of the theories “healthy” Japanese population. tional Election Studies from 1952 to that attempts to explain why, 82 years In 1946, the adoption of a new con- 2000, we find that party identification after women were granted the right to stitution established legal equality among the mass public with regards to vote, only 15% of Congress is female between men and women. Two years gender follows the pattern of issue evo- is the “pipeline theory.” The basic later, the National Eugenic Act was lution. Between 1952 and 1964, women premise underlying this theory is a amended to the Eugenic Protection Act, were more likely to call themselves Re- “bottom-up” approach, in that there is which granted women the legal right

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003725 publicans. The period from 1966–1978 a sequential lag structure in the Ameri- to abortion in certain circumstances, . . is one of fluctuation. In 1980, “separa- can political hierarchy. We argue, how- such as genetic problems. The follow- tion” occurs, with women more likely ever, that parties, political elites, and ing year, women were granted the right to call themselves Democrats. This policy goals play a fundamental role to have an abortion for economic rea- trend continues through the late 1980s in this process. Although there has sons. Although abortion still appeared and early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, been a slow, relatively steady, increase in the Japanese penal code in 1948, it there is a 10-point gender gap for the in the number of women in public of- had essentially been decriminalized. Democratic Party. fice, women are no longer evenly dis- Women’s groups and medical doc- There are similar patterns evident tributed across the two parties. Thus, tors successfully defeated the ruling among party activists. The pattern here, we may have to account for more of a conservative political party’s multiple also based on NES data, is similar to “top-down” explanation, in which po- attempts to impose new restrictions on 3 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms the changes among the mass public. litical elites at the national level foster abortion in the 1970s. Another factor Again, three periods are evident. Prior changes in lower levels of the political that protected women’s reproductive to 1968, Republicans have a greater system and eventually in the mass pub- rights was the government’s decision proportion of female activists than lic. to sign the “Treaty to Abolish All Dis- Democrats. The second period, from crimination Against Women” in 1980 1968–1978, is one of fluctuation. Fi- in order to maintain Japan’s status as nally, there is a separation in 1980– an “advanced country.” When the de- 1982 that persists through the end of The Mother’s Body mand for reproductive rights grew the time series. From 1982 forward, Protection Act and the among disability rights groups in the women comprised at least half of the Contraceptive Pill: late 1970s and early 1980s, some femi- Democrat activists and marks the last Reproductive Rights and nist groups collaborated with them in time that women comprised at least half Policy Making in Japan a joint attempt to have abortion re- of the Republican activists. moved from the penal code as a crime. The same pattern can also be seen in —Misako Iwamoto In 1996, clauses restricting the rights the partisan distribution of women MIC University of people with disabilities were re- elected to the U.S. House of Represen- moved when the Mother’s Body Pro- , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , tatives from 1956–2000. There are rela- tection Act amended the Eugenic Pro- tively equal numbers of Republican he development of reproductive tection Act. and Democratic female House members Tpolicy in Japan has followed an un- After the United States approved the in the elections from 1956 until 1968. usual path compared to other industri- use of the contraceptive pill in 1960, In the early 1970s, there is more fluc- alized nations. Specifically, women the Central Board of Medicine consid- tuation, especially among the Demo- gained access to legal abortion in ered distributing it in Japan. The

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:33 at 2017 Nov 06 crats. Separation occurs in 1988 and 1948, yet the low-dose contraceptive Board’s deliberations were interrupted

, on on , increases through the elections of the pill only became available in 1999. due to political concerns about the 1990s and 2000. In 1968, the last elec- This paper argues that controversy over pill’s effect on sexual morality. In tion prior to the “critical moment,” reproductive policy in Japan stems 1966, certain middle-to-high-dose con- eight women were elected to the House from the male-centered, patriarchal traceptive pills were approved for use 73.14.13.212 of Representatives, five Democrats and character of the political administra- in the treatment of painful menses. three Republicans. After the election tion. Women’s low representation in the Ironically, the male potency drug, of 2002, there were 59 women, 38 national government is directly related Viagra, was legalized in just six

. IP address: address: IP . Democrats and 21 Republicans. Of the to the slow development of policies months, whereas deliberations over the 14 women in the Senate today, nine are protecting women’s reproductive low-dose contraceptive pill lasted nine Democrats. Similar patterns can also be rights, because legislative acts of spe- years. This notable situation stimulated seen among women in state Houses of cific concern to women tend to be in- public discussion about the sexual Representatives and state Senates troduced through private members’ ini- double standard in Japan, enabling (Simon and Palmer 2003). tiatives. women to finally secure government While very preliminary, all of this Prior to the Meiji Restoration in approval for the low-dose contracep- suggests that gender triggered an issue 1868, abortion and infanticide were tive pill in 1999. evolution that fundamentally changed relatively common; however, abortion https://www.cambridge.org/core the electoral landscape in the United was designated a crime when it was

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 65 Downloaded from from Downloaded Equal Employment in the labor market due to household and nally gave women an opportunity to Contemporary Japan: A childcare demands. However, women’s enter the career track, it created new Structural Approach employment must also be understood inequalities among women workers, in the context of gender imbalances in and it continues to disadvantage —Hiromi Tanaka, the labor market and gendered prac- women in terms of job content, pay, and Ruhr University tices in the Japanese employment sys- promotion. In 1997, the EEOL was re- tem. Discrimination against women is vised to prohibit discrimination in re- uch of the literature about Japa embedded in the job recruitment and cruitment and promotion, require pub- Mnese society explains the assignment process, wage structure, and lic disclosure of the name of compa- marginalization of women as a cultural training, promotion, and retirement nies that violate the law, grant employ- trait; however, it is naïve to conclude systems of Japanese corporations. ees the ability to enter arbitration with- that the issue of gender equality is spe- The Japanese labor market is char- out the employer’s consent, and en- cific to the “nature” of a certain soci- acterized by both horizontal and verti- courage companies to adopt measures ety or culture. To adequately under- cal segregation. Similar to the United to end sexual harassment. Although the stand gender inequality requires a sys- States, women workers are highly con- 1997 EEOL addressed several problems

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003750 tematic analysis of the sociocultural, centrated in certain industries and oc- in the original law, it was still too weak . . economic, and political structures that cupations. Segregation within occupa- to substantially prevent discriminatory produce such inequality. It is within tions and companies also exists; that practices. these structures that the issue of equal is, men hold a disproportionate num- I conclude that, overall, Japanese employment arises, becomes ber of the high status positions. That policy concerning equal employment problematized, and is negotiated. This only a small number of women hold reflects dramatic progress over the last paper relies on a structural perspective positions of authority in Japanese com- three decades, yet employment condi- to understand the major developments panies reflects a cultural preference for tions still vary substantially for men concerning equal employment in con- men, who are regarded as more valu- and women. It appears that systematic, temporary Japan. To illustrate the prob- able employees. Women who want to indirect discrimination in personnel lem of structurally based gender dis- work have had to accept positions as practices is at least partly responsible https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms crimination, I critically examine assistants, regardless of their profes- for impeding women’s full integration women’s position and treatment in the sional qualifications and desires, re- into the workplace. Another type of Japanese corporate employment sys- sulting in the widespread devaluation workplace inequality that is increas- tem and consider how various actors of qualified women workers as well as ingly common in Japan is the division contributed to the policy development a significant wage gap. between full-time and part-time or dis- process that culminated in the passage Although the Labor Standards Act patched workers. These forms of “flex- of the 1985 Equal Employment Oppor- of 1946 requires equal wages for ible” employment have emerged in re- tunity Law. women and men, the equal pay clause sponse to changing economic condi- Four primary features characterize only applies to the same type of labor. tions. Since the 1990s, the equal em- the Japanese employment system— Therefore, employers may claim that a ployment bureau (formerly the high job security, high worker commit- substantial wage difference exists be- women’s bureau) has worked ardently ment to the company, cooperative com- cause women and men usually perform to implement measures that support pany unionization, and personnel man- different jobs. Because wage disparity part-time workers and help them rec- agement involving extensive in-house due to discrimination in recruitment, oncile the competing demands of paid training and frequent transfers. These training, job assignment, and promo- work and family life. This reflects the aspects constitute what is called “life- tion is beyond the scope of this law, shifting emphasis of women’s employ- , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , long” employment. The transfer system, those groups that support full equality ment policy from universal equality to known as rotation, is vital for Japanese in employment began to call for new reconciliation. companies’ ability to produce highly legislation around 1975. Their efforts skilled workers, because these compa- were facilitated by the United Nations’ nies usually recruit recent graduates introduction of a set of women-friendly who lack management skills. Rotation policy initiatives, including the Engendered Violence:

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:32 at 2017 Nov 06 provides executive trainees, in particu- CEDAW, which Japan ratified in 1980. India in Comparative

, on on , lar, with opportunities to become ac- Although its passage was complicated Perspective quainted with all aspects of the by conflicts between business and la- company’s operations, as well as estab- bor interests, Japan’s first Equal Em- —Chiharu Takenaka, lish personal networks that promote ployment Opportunity Law (EEOL) was Meiji Gakuin University 73.14.13.212 their authority. Within the fairly rigid enacted in 1986. The EEOL prohibited life-long employment system, such gender discrimination in training, pen- lthough gender has often been ne structural flexibility enables companies sion allocation, and employee dis- Aglected in standard academic dis- . IP address: address: IP . to adjust to market changes, techno- missal, but only encouraged compa- course concerning violence and the logical innovations, and the globaliza- nies to eliminate discriminatory prac- state, increased media attention to col- tion of the economy. tices in recruitment, job assignment, lective violence against women in Data reveal that fewer women than and promotion. Moreover, the law im- Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s raised men are employed, and among women, posed no penalties for violations. public consciousness and challenged those ages 30 to 34 tend not to partici- Many companies introduced the scholars to view political conflict pate in the labor force. This pattern of two-track system—a career-track through a gendered lens. For a long Japanese women’s employment, re- (sogoshoku) and an assistant track time, political analysts failed to rec- ferred to as the “M curve,” is partially (ippanshoku)—in response to the ognize the gendered organization of https://www.cambridge.org/core explained by women’s withdrawal from EEOL. Although the new system fi- violence during armed conflict. As a

66 PS January 2004 Downloaded from from Downloaded result, rape and other sexual assaults for power, marginalized women be- women in the labor force to date. Ad- committed during riots, wars, and other come trapped between enemy men and ditional legislation in 1972 and 1991 political conflicts were viewed as dis- their own men in a desperate attempt expanded the scope of women’s equal tinct deviant acts perpetrated by a few to prove the authenticity of their own employment rights. The presence of a individuals. In this paper, I argue that bodies. In volatile political situations, national enforcement agency, the the common view of rape as an indi- marginalized groups are called on to Equal Employment Opportunities vidual act spontaneously committed prove their worth in the community, and Commission, (EEOC) and sanctions for during violent confrontations is erro- women are often exploited by both non- enforcement have also been sig- neous. In fact, sexual assault is a com- their own men and enemy men as the nificant factors in creating dramatic mon strategic weapon in the commis- men struggle for power. Thus, the dy- increases for women in professional sion of political violence. namic of communal violence against and managerial positions, where they The first half of this paper focuses women both has its roots in, and sup- now number over 45%. on how and where incidents of ports the commission of, domestic vio- The cause of equal employment for gendered political violence occurred. lence. women was aided by the EEOC’s power Narrowly defined, gendered violence By comparing the political violence to prosecute discrimination cases and

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003750 includes molestation, rape, other during riots in Gujarat and military act as a repository for complaints. Liti- . . sexual assaults against women, and occupation in Kashmir to other inci- gation has proven to be a crucial tool rape-murders. These acts of abuse have dents of collective violence against for American feminists, sometimes sup- a broader purpose than the sexual ex- women around the world, as well as to ported by government efforts through ploitation of individual women, how- particular forms of domestic violence the EEOC and other federal enforce- ever, because they serve as a way to in India—sati, dowry murder, and triple ment agencies. There have been thou- demoralize individuals and damage telaq—this paper reveals how politi- sands of cases litigated in U.S. courts entire communities. This explains why cal violence is deeply gendered, and since 1964; as of 2002, one in five civil gender violence is often closely asso- how patriarchal ideology and family lawsuits dealt with harassment or dis- ciated with ethnic cleansing and geno- structure support both domestic and crimination, as opposed to one in 20 a cide. Excerpts from a human rights fact- communal violence. Each of these in- decade ago, supporting the view that

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms finding task force report are provided dividual cases of violence against women as individuals and groups have to reveal how victims of gendered po- women was justified using the dis- often mobilized effectively to seek fa- litical violence suffered during and af- course of family privacy. As long as vorable judicial rulings from the court ter armed conflicts in Gujarat and Kash- women are confined to the domestic system. mir. These reports conclude that the sphere and that space is defined as one In the U.S., when outcomes have state did not sufficiently protect or de- where men are entitled to exert author- been most helpful to working women, fend women from having their civil ity over other family members, women policy communities have brought to- rights violated. After the assaults will continue to be victimized. In the gether bureaucrats (“femocrats”) and ended, women continued to suffer from age of globalization and democratiza- feminist advocates, as well as members psychological trauma, miscarriage, tion, however, patriarchy is facing se- of Congress, to support legislation and unwanted pregnancy, social ostracism, rious challenges in politically volatile other government action to strengthen divorce and abandonment, domestic societies like India. The basic units of civil and employment rights. violence, and life in refugee camps. A society—family and community—are review of these cases suggests the as- in the process of transformation, as are saults against women were strategically the concepts of tradition and religion. planned, deliberate attempts to incite I conclude that we must not only as- Medicalization versus , subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at at available use, of terms Core Cambridge the to subject , violence by recruiting new members sign gender a central place in analyses Demedicalization of and clearly identify an enemy, support- of political processes, but that we also Women’s Health Care ing the thesis that violence against need to develop a feminist critique of women is an integral part of hostile politics based on bordered sovereignty. —Marian Lief Palley, political struggles. Such a critique may enable us to de- University of Delaware The second half of this paper ex- velop an alternative way of organiz-

06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:32 at 2017 Nov 06 poses the narrative that supports col- ing the political system to effectively his essay focuses attention on some

, on on , lective violence against women. Reli- challenge violence in our international Tspecific issues related to gious norms, traditional rituals, and society. medicalization versus indigenous customs are rearranged to demedicalization of women’s health construct a new identity politics of care. 73.14.13.212 community. Gender is an essential com- The intersection of cultural norms, ponent of this warrior discourse, which politics, economics, and demograph- is composed of the dichotomous rheto- Equal Employment Policy ics is especially apparent in the broad

. IP address: address: IP . ric of masculinity versus femininity as in the United States area of women’s reproductive health well as the deeply gendered rhetoric of —Joyce Gelb, care. Included within this rubric are family. Through this discourse, domi- City University of New York concerns with puberty, pregnancy and nant men make women signifiers of the childbearing, and menopause. All of family and community, and chastity itle VII of the Civil Rights Act of these states are normal; no one of these comes to symbolize the group’s honor. 1964, which prohibited employ- life cycle stages is an illness as illness In the context of this ideology, raping T ment discrimination based on sex, as is usually defined. The Webster- women is a highly effective way to deni- interpreted and advocated for by a Merriam Dictionary defines illness as grate the enemy group’s honor. Trans- women’s policy network, has proven “an unhealthy condition of body or https://www.cambridge.org/core formed into objects by men’s struggle to be a potent resource for American mind.” It also relates illness to sick-

PSOnline www.apsanet.org 67 Downloaded from from Downloaded ness. Sickness is “ill health,” “a disor- lems women confront that are seen as The question then arises as to why dered, weakened, or unsound condi- politically explosive and have, in ef- some conditions have been tion,” or “a specific disease.” Puberty, fect, been demedicalized. In particu- medicalized whereas others have been pregnancy and childbearing, as well as lar, a woman’s right to terminate a preg- demedicalized. Also, has the menopause, are not unhealthy condi- nancy, violence against women, and medicalization of women’s life cycle tions nor are they specific diseases. rape have health care implications and stages produced a positive or negative Quite to the contrary, these are normal have been excluded from the women’s situation for women, or is the answer and healthy conditions. health agenda. There are political rea- someplace in the middle? This essay Whereas women’s reproductive sons that must be understood as one focuses on one specific case of health cycles have been medicalized, ponders the reasons for such medicalization, pregnancy and child there are several health-related prob- demedicalization. birth, and one case of demedicalization,

abortion rights.

https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096504003774

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06 Nov 2017 at 22:12:32 at 2017 Nov 06

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