Women in Legislative Politics : A Comparative Study of Canada, Norway and Sweden
Michelle Johnston
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts
Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia December, 1996
Q Copyright by Michelle Johnston, 1996 1SI Nationai Library Eiwrorneque nanonaie of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, nie Wellington Ottawa ON KI A ON4 OuawaON KlAOlr14 Canada Canada
The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant à la National Libraq of Canada to BLbliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la foxme de microfiche/filrn, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique.
The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts eom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Table of Contents iv
List of Tables v
Abstract vi
Abbreviations vii . Acknowledgments Vlll
Chapter 1- Introduction 1
Chapter 2- A Feminist Critique of Liberal Democratic Theory 9
Chapter 3- The Impact of Second-Wave Feminisrn on Women's Politicai Representation in the Canadian, Norwegian, and Swedish Parliaments. 35
Chapter 4- Wornen's Recniitment and Selection into Political Parties in Canada, Norway and Sweden. 66
Chapter 5- Can Women Legislators Promote Women's Concerns Through Parliamentary Govemment? 124
Chapter 6- ConcIuding Rernarks 190
Appendix 1
Appendix II
References 2 18 List of Tables
Table 1.1- Percentage of elected women in Canada, Norway and Sweden 21 1
Table 1.2- Wornen's participation in Canadian local constituencies at the 21 1 federai ~evec
Table .3- Backgrounds of fernale candidates and fernale MPs 1988 federai election 2 12
Table .4-Number of elected women and men in the Canadian House of Commons, 2 13 1980- 1993
Table -5- Partisan Distribution of seats in the Swedish Riksdag, and Norwegian 214 Storting, 1993
Table I .6-Number of Men and Women eiected to the Swedish Riksdag, 2 14 1991-1993
Table 1-7-Percentage of Women elected to the Norwegian Storting, 1993
Table 2.1- Femaie MPs appointed to P.C. and Liberal Cabinets 2 16
Table 2.2-Female MPs appointed to the Sociai Democratic Cabinet 217
Table 2.3-Female MPs appointed to the Labour Cabinet, 1996 2 17 This thesis studies the role of women in legislative politics in Canada, Norway,
and Sweden. Because Norway and Sweden have more femaie MPs than their Canadian
counterparts, this thesis examines why this is the case. It also studies whether or not an
increase in female legislators in these Scandinavian countries has had an impact on
increasing discussion on women's issues.
The first section of the thesis examines the electorai systems in Norway, Sweden and Canada. This section will explain why Norwegian and Swedish female MPs have enjoyed higher levels of representation than women have in Canada. The thesis also studies whether there are barriers facing Scandinavian and Canadian on introducing women's issues into the public arena. Finally, assessments will be made about whether an increase in female LegisIators will improve public debate on women's issues, or if other changes are also needed. List of Abbreviations
NAC: National Action Cornmittee on the Status of Women
NWLC: National Women's Liberal Commission
NPC WF: National Progressive Conservative Women's Federation
POW: Participation of Women Cornmittee
RCERPF: Royal Commission on ELectoral Reform and Party Financing
vii 1 would like to extend my gratitude to those people who helped me write this thesis. First and foremost, 1 wouid like to thank my family: Mary, Cyril, Steven, Tanya and Richard. If it had not been for theü support and encouragement, this thesis would not have been realized.
Special thanks also go out to my thesis readers: Robert Finbow, Louise Carbert, and Peter Aucoin. Through their assistance, 1 was able to have a better understanding of this issue.
Finally, 1 would like to thank the participants who took part in this study. They provided me with insightful information on why it is important that the diverse concems of women are represented at the legislative leveI. traduction
Why have issues such as reproductive rights, day care, or domestic violence never played a dominant role in
Canadian politics? Why have many women's issues not been incorporated into any of the major parties' agendas? Why has the Canadian government not adequately addressed how economic policies such as social service cut-backs have a negative impact on women's lives?
~reviously,feminist academics have not inquired enough into these concerns. Instead many £eminist political scientists have mainly studied why women are disadvantaged
£rom participating in Canadian politics at the legislative level (Brodie, 1985; Brodie and Vickers, 1981; Erickson,
1991) . Another common argument has been that womenJs concerns have been marginalized through mainstream politics, because women politicians are underrepresented in the political arena (RCSW, 1970; Friedan, 1983). Recently, feminist theorists have argued that female legislators must also represent women's concerns once they are elected. They have examined the nature of the party system, and the differences between fernale legislators across party lines in order to assess whether female legislators have difficulty representing women's concerns (Arscott and Trimble, 1997;
Maille, 1997; Young, 1997; Vickers, 1997).
Whv- this analvsis is jrn~ortant and how this thesis will
s problern.
Because women comprise half of the population, it is clearly essential that their concerns be represented at the legislative level. No doubt, Canadian female legislators have had difficulty representing womenfs concerns, because they are are far frorn achieving gender equity in the House of Cornmons. Bowever, this thesis will investigate further into this question. What impact do female legislators have on influencing public debate once they comprise a large percentage of the legislature? Will an increase in the number of female MPs translate into an equal influence over the issues that are discussed at the legislative level?
This thesis will examine these questions by looking at this area from a comparative angle. Canada will be compared with Norway and Sweden which have a high number of female legislators in their parliaments. Questions will be raised regarding why Norway and Sweden have more female MPs than in
Canada. It will also examine if there are obstacles to female legislatorls influence on introducing womenls concerns through legislative and party structures.
When looking at these questions; a variety of secondary sources will be studied. The research of Canadian academics who took part in the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing offer informative explanations for why
Canadian women are underrepresented at the legislative level .
This thesis will also cover the writings of Canadian and Scandinavian academics who have studied these questions.
These secondary resources will also further Our understanding about whether or not Canadian, Norwegian, and
Swedish women have endured obstacles at the electoral and legislative level.
Several interviews with female legislators, academics, and feminists from Canada and Scandinavia were also conducted for this study. Through face to face and phone interviews, participants provided insightful information on whether women experience barriers at the electoral and legislative level in Canada, Norway and Sweden. As we shall see, their perspective on the role of female legislators in these countries will shed further light on this issue. Outljne of thesis cbters
In order to answer these questions, this thesis has
been organized into four sections. It will first explore
these questions from a theoretical perspective which will
set up the argument of subsequent chapters. Chapter 2
studies the original theories on liberal democracies which
have had an impact on Canadian and Scandinavian politics.
By assessing and evaluating these original theories,
arguments will be made that women were viewed as being ill-
suited for politics. Following this analysis, the chapter
will argue why early and contemporary liberal feminists have
Seen critical of these original theorists. They argue that
once women participate in public institutions such as
political parties on the same basis as men, they will be
emancipat ed .
Liberal feminism has been a useful device which has
helped many women overcome the obstacles of party politics.
Despite these strengths, the chapter will also explain why many feminist theorists now argue that liberal feminist
theory is inadequate. Because of these problems, this 5 chapter argues that even though liberal feminism has many strengths, new theories are needed on women's political participation which can explain how female MPs can better represent women.
In Chapter 3, this thesis then compares the history of the women' s movement in Canada, Norway, and Sweden. It will first argue that even though women in these countries fought and won voting rights, this did not translate into an equal impact on introducing women's issues through public debate.
The chapter will then outline the issues which spear-headed a revival of the feminist movement in these three states.
Following this general analysis, it will compare the nature and impact of Canadian, Norwegian, and Swedish feminist groups on encouraging more women to run £or public office.
The chapter will argue that Norwegian and Swedish women's gxoups were more influential than their Canadian counterpart at helping women achieve higher levels of representation.
Chapter 4 compares the electoral systems in Canada,
Norway and Sweden. It will first outline how well woman have fared in each of these electoral systems. A detailed study of Canada's single member constituency system and electoral finance laws will demonstrate why women experience 6 barriers at the nomination level. The chapter will then
compare and contrast the ideological differences between
each Canadian political party and the efforts they have made
toward increasing the number of women into each party.
Finally, it will assess why Norwegian and Swedish women have achieved greater levels of representation by looking at
the proportional representation system, party finance laws, and party ideology in these systerns. By comparing each of these factors, this thesis will assess whether or not
Norwegian and Swedish women have experienced the same obstacles as Canadian female legislators. As we shall see, electoral systems, party finance laws, and party ideology, may have an impact on wornen's recruitment into legislative office.
Chapter 5 assesses the impact of female legislators in
Canada, Norway, and Sweden once they have been elected.
This chapter will first briefly define woments interests and why it is important that these concerns be promoted by
legislators. Following this section, it will study the
impact of party discipline and ideology on female
legislators' ability to promote women's concerns.
This chapter will then examine whether or not Canadian, 7
Swedish and Norwegian women MPs have been recruited into key cabinet positions. Finally, the chapter will assess why womenfs issues have not been a dominant cleavage in
Canadian, and Scandinavian party systems. Generally, this chapter will assess whether or not an increase in the number of female MPs will ensure that there is a greater voice on women's issues. It will also study whether parliarnentary structures require changes in order for female legislators to represent the concerns of women.
Chapter 6 provides an overview of the Eindings of this thesis. It will also offer recommendations for changes that may be required in order to improve the xepresentation of women's interests and discussion of womenfs issues.
Finally, the chapter discusses why this topic requires further research.
By comparing the electoral systems of Canada, Norway and Sweden, this thesis will study why there are more female
MPs in these states than in Canada. This thesis will evaluate whether or not an increase in female MPs in both of these systems ensures that there is more discussion on women's issues. Through careful study of both of these concerns, this thesis will consider whether or not it is 8 necessary for political structures such as electoral systems and party discipline to be reformed to facilitate more debate on public policy concerning women. beral Democrat ic Theon
Liberal thought has influenced Western democratic theories on representation. How has liberal philosophy had an impact on theories concerning the political representation of women? This chapter will address this question. Before studying this question the chapter will first define liberal democratic theory. It will then study the original theories on liberal democracies and why these theorists argued that women were not suited for the public world of representational politics. Following this analysis, the chapter will explain why early liberal feminists felt that if women achieved the same rights as men, they would be emancipated. As we shall see, these theorists had an impact on contemporary liberal feminist theory. This section will argue that liberal feminist theory on women's political participation has been a useful tool which has helped women overcome the barriers of public life, Finally, the chapter will explain why many feminist academics argue that libexal feminist theory is inadequate.
In essence, arguments will be made that despite the many benefits of libexal feminism, new theories on women and
9 10 political representation are required which can explain how fernale legislators can represent the diverse concerns of women .
Before discussing why early liberal theorists excluded women from having a role to play in public life, an overview of the liberal democratic theory of representation is required. Terence Ball and Richard Dagger (1991) note that there are several different variants of liberalism which have developed over-time. In general, "liberals ... see themselves as champions of individual liberty who work to create or preserve an open and tolerant society-a society whose members are free to pursue their own ideas and interests with little interference as possiblett (Ball and
Dagger, 1991: 65) .
Early liberals argued that private property and the market should not be hindered by the state. Ball and Dagger
(1991) note that laissez- faire liberalisrn formed the basis of capitalism. This form of liberalism argued that al1 Il individuals are reasonable, and they must have their interests, such as private property represented through the political system. They argued that individuals should have the right to vote for someone who can represent their interests through the legislative process (Ball and Dagger,
1991). In other words, ' political parties and related institutions ... [represent the electoratets interests byl ...effectively mediating between the sovereign people and their governmentr' (Levine, 1991: 138).
Liberals also argued that al1 rational men and women should have voting rights. Liberal scholars such as John
Stuart Mill argued that individuals can only be represented when rational people can vote for a government that represents their concerns (Ball and Dagger, 1991) .
Welfare, or reform, liberalism differs from earlier forms of liberal democratic thought. As we shall soon see, this variant of liberalism has greatly influenced Norway and
Sweden, and to a certain extent, Canada. Reform liberals argue that the government should advance the welfare of its people in the name of individual liberty (Ball and Dagger,
1991: 67). Only when the state promotes the welfare of its people will citizens overcome barriers such as poverty, 12 illness and prejudice which hinders their individual freedorn
(Bal1 and Dagger, 1991: 67; Esping-Anderson, 1985) .
The Liberal Democratjc Exclusion of Women and the Familv
Liberal democracies initially represented only men and not women. Liberal democratic philosophers argued that women were best suited for the private world of the family.
Because women's role was in the private sphere, women were excluded £rom owning property, voting and from entering politics . Carol Pateman (1979), argues that liberal democracies addressed only the needs of men. Pateman
(1979) argues that , ' classical (liberal theorists) almost invariably assume that the ' individual ' and ' citizen ' are male" (p. 9) . Furthermore, ' the classic (liberal) theorists ...argued that the natural freedom and equality were the birthright of one sex.. . (and) only men were free and equal'" (Pateman, 1989: 5) .
Women did iot enjoy the same political rights as men.
Men, in contrast, were viewed as more rational than women and could effectively represent the interests of al1 citizens. ' The classic texts assumed that... ( women)
cannot transcend their bodily natures and sexual passionsf
and they cannot be trusted as political decision-makersM
(Pateman, 1989: 4). Because of this attitude, women were
not involved in politics and did not have their interests
represented through public policy. Male legislators defined which issues were relevant for public debate. Not
surprisingly, women, or family concerns, were not initially
incorporated into the public sphere.
Janine Brodie (1991), also makes similar arguments.
She argues that liberal democratic theory excluded women
from acquiring citizenship rights. Liberal theorists argued
that women were naturally suited as care takers in the
family and ' concluded that women were permanently impaired
from developing the requisite skills for democratic citizenship" (Brodie, 1991 : 13) . Furthemore, this explains why issues such as reproduction, sexuality and other concerns which have a direct impact on woments lives were not discussed in the public realm (Brodie, 1991: 13).
Instead, politicians have mainly represented interests which are outside of the private world.
Because arguments have been made that liberal theorists 14 excluded women from -representativepolitics, it is important that we study examples of liberal philosophers who shared this view. Anna Jonasdottir (1994) provides a detailed demonstration of John Locke's and Thomas Hobbes' attitude toward the role of women in liberal societies. She argues that Hobbes believed that men are not only sovereign in the public world, but they are also the masters of their family.
She stresses that Hobbes does not even define women's role in liberal society. This attitude is evident when Hobbes argues " that a farnily is defined as being made up of ' a man and his children; or a man and his servants; or a man, and his children, and servants together: wherein the Father is Master is the Soveraign (sic)'" ( Jonasdottir, 1994: 128) .
On this note, it is questionable whether or not Hobbes is treating women as the servants of the family.
Locke, in contrast, acknowledqes the role of women in liberal society (Jonasdottir, 1994). Unlike Hobbes, Locke argues that marriage is a voluntary and legal contract between husband and wife. Even though'women also have responsibility over their children, Locke argues that husband's have power over their wives through marriage
(Jonasdottir, 1994: 140). In other words, Locke (1980) 15 explains that " the rule should ...naturally fa11 to the man's share, as the abler and the stronger" in the marriage
(p.44). Because of these attitudes, only men were viewed as being well-suited to decide what was best for al1 citizens in liberal democracies.
This section has demonstrated that early liberal theories excluded women from the public world of politics.
Because liberal philosophers supported the exclusion of women £rom politics, interests such as reproduction, child care, and other issues which have a direct impact on women and the family were not discussed as public policy concerns during the formative stages of liberal theory. However, it is also important to note that liberal democratic governments played a limited role in public policy concerning society as a whole during this time. Because of this factor, other issues which fa11 outside of the private realm such as private property and the market were incorporated into the early stages of liberal democratic theory. Nevertheless, questions still remain. How did female philosophers respond to the public and private divisions between men and women? Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote during the late 1700's
was openly critical of early liberal theories on the role of
women. Wollstonecraft argued that women are not by nature
irrational or inferior to men. She argued that women could
not advance their natural talents because they did not have
the same educational rights as men (Tong, 1989). In her
words " the woman who strengthens her body and exercises her
mind will, by managing her family and practising various virtues, become the friend, and not the humble dependent of her husband" (Wollstonecraft, [1792]1983 : 213) .
Wollstonecraft played an important role toward
redefining the role of women in liberal societies. She
argued that if women were given the same educational opportunities as men, they could become more rational.
However, Wollstonecraft did not argue that women should play a role in politics. On the contrary, she merely noted that
if women have a greater education, they will have a more orderly household, and an equal relationship with their husbands (Tong, 1989). She does not specifically challenge
the argument that women can play an active role beyond the private sphere . In any case, Wollstonecraft (1983) wrote
during a period when women did not have the vote or the
right to run for public office, and it is understandable,
then, that she would not mention that women should pursue a
life in the public world.
Harriet Taylor Mill's ([1851]1970) theory on women in
liberal democracies differs from Wollstonecraft's arguments.
Unlike Wollstonecraft (1983), Mill argued that women should not only have the same educational opportunities as men, but
they should also enjoy participation in the public sphere.
In other words, women should not be dependent on their
husbands, but should also work outside of the home (Tong,
1989; Mill, 1970:104). However, Mill also assumed that women should also be the primary care giver in the farnily
(Tong, 1989:22). Her arguments were more progressive than
Wollstonecraft~stheory, because she also stressed that women should have a role in politics. Unlike Wollstonecraft
(1983), Mill (1970) argued that women should have the right
to vote. In her words: ' that women have as good a daim as men have, in point of persona1 right, to the suffrage,... it would be difficult for any one to deny" (Mill, 1970: 95).
Mi11 also differs from earlier liberal theories when 18 she argues that women should enter public office. For
example, Mill argued against " the right of any portion of
the species to decide for another portion ... what is and
what is not their ' proper spheret" (Mill, 1970:lOO). She
also stressed that it is unfair to argue that motherhood
should be the only role for women. Mill (1970) argued that
it is unjust that a law should exclude women from
professions which are incompatible with their roles as
rnothers. In other words, \\ there is no need to make
provisions by law that a woman shall not carry on the active
details of the household ... and at the same time practice a
profession, or be elected to parliament" (Mill, 1970 : 103) .
Furthermore, Mill rejected the argument that politics will make women harsh and corrupt. On the contrary, womenrs
influence in the public world can have a beneficial impact
on politics (Mill, 1970: 106) .
Harriet Taylor Mill's liberal feminist theory was more progressive than WollstonecraftDs theory. Unlike
Wollstonecraft, Mill, argued that women should vote, enter
the public world, and be thus politically active. It is
important to note that these women wrote during a period when women did not have any political rights. Their 19 definition of the ideal role of women was radical for this period.
However, there is still room for criticism. Mill does imply that women legislators would be different from men by referring to the 'beneficiall effects of womenls political participation, but does not explicitly define the different issues that women might bring to the table. Finally, although both Mill (1970) and Wollstonecraft (1983) advocated more equality for women, they did not challenge women' s role as the primary care giver .
Having discussed the roots of liberalism and early feminist critiques on these writings, it is now important to analyse how these theories influenced contemporary liberal feminist thought . Lorraine Code (19931 provides a detailed definition of the liberal feminist theory of representation.
Tt is important to note that an understanding of this definition is crucial, especially when this theory bas been the dominant discourse on women and representation. 20 Liberal feminists argue that women should enjoy equal
access into al1 public institutions on the same basis as
men. They also argue that sexual discrimination is unfair
hecause it prevents women £rom pursuing their self-interest
in the public sphere. Code (1993) also argues that liberal
feminists are openly critical of the argument that women are
best suited in employment which re£lects their work in the
private sphere. In other words, liberal feminists
disapprove of the attitude that women are ill-suited for the
corrupt world of party politics.
However, liberal feminists deny "that complete equality
requires radical alterations in basic social institutionsgi
(Kramarae and Treichler, 1985: 231). They assume that these
structures do not require modifications, because true
equality will occur once women are fully represented in al1
spheres of public life (Code, 1993:37). In essence, liberal
feminists argue that men should share power and make room
for women in the decision-making process (Code, 1993:37) .
In oxder to truly comprehend this theory, this section will now study the libexal Eeminist writings of American
feminist academic, Betty Friedan. Friedan's (1983) perspective on the political participation of women can further understanding this theory because she the
most well-known liberal ferninist theorist (Code, 1993:37).
Friedan argues that women can only realize their true
talents and al1 of the virtues of citizenship once they
achieve equality on the same level as men. This can only
occur when women have " a share in the decisions of
government, of politics (and) not just to do the housework
of industryw (Friedan, 1983: 15). Furthermore, Friedan
argues that she wants " a voice for al1 women, to (raise)
their voices in decision-making on all matters £rom war and peace to the kinds of cities wefre going to inhabit"
(Friedan, 1983: 19) .
Liberal feminism is important because this has been the prevailing theory on women and political participation.
Liberal feminism has contributed much toward this question because openly promotes the political representation of women . stresses that women have a right to become actively involved in positions of power and influence.
Tong (1989) argues that liberal feminism has helped women achieve many political inroads. In her words: \\weowe to liberal feminists many, if not most, of the educational and legal reforms that have improved the quality of life for 22
women" (Tong, 1989 :38) . For example, liberal feminists have
had an impact on such reforms as equal pay or affirmative
action legislation (Black, 1993; Burt, 1993). In general,
these reforms have helped to increase women's representation
inside of existing institutions such as political parties
(Tong, 1989; Black, 1993; Burt, 1993).
Like Our discussion of early liberal feminism there
are still problems with this theory. Contemporary liberal
feminism rnay encourage women's access into positions of
political power, but it also does not explain how women can
make a difference.
Can women legislators actively bring new issues such as reproduction, sexuality, or sexual assault, which have been excluded £rom the public realm, ont0 the dominant political agenda without reforming existing legislative structures?
Will the presence of women in public office ensure that these concerns become a major part of political debate if the present structures such as political parties remain unchanged? Why does liberal feminist theory not effectively explain whether or not women will behave differently than men once they enter the legislative arena? Without answering these questions, it appears that this theory 23 merely assumes that women will automatically become equal
with men once they become full participants in the decision-
making process.
ritical. . theorles on the reuresentation of women.
Because women remain underrepresented at the
legislative level in Western democracies, many academics
argue that parties and electoral systems require structural
reforms. For example, Canadian academics across the
ideological spectrum, who took part in the 1991 Royal
Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing,
recommended that political parties require modifications which can make these institutions more democratic and fair.
Many academics in Norway and Sweden have also stressed that under the present system female legislators are hindered
£rom representing women' s concerns (Skjeie, 1991; Hedlund,
1988; Bystydzienski, 1995). In any case, this chapter will only analyse the theoretical arguments feminist academics have made in support of reforming the electoral system.
Future chapters, however, will study this problem on an empirical level.
Arscott and Trimble (1997) argue that we should no 24 longer solely focus on removing the barriers which prevent women from actively participating in party politics.
Ferninist academics must now ask new questions which focus on the behaviour of female legislators once they achieve public office. In their words: " increasing the numbers of women in office does not directly translate into positive outcomes for women as some female legislators are indifferent to women's demands and are anti-feminists" (Arscott and
Trimble, 1997:4) .
Although Arscott and Trimble(l997) are correct that we must also focus on whether female legislators represent women's concerns once they are elected, there are several problems with their argument. Future theories on women and representation shoüld not mexely argue that it is essential that female legislators be feminist. Even though pro- feminist legislators may speak for many women, they do not represent the concerns of al1 women. Women MPs who are anti-feminist can also play a valuable role in representing the concerns of women who are also supportive of these viewpoints.
Arscott and Trimble (1997) argue that there are two sets of questions to be examined when looking at the role of 25 female legislators. They suggest that there is a difference between representation by women and representation for women
(Arscott and Trimble, 1997:4). On the one hand,
'representation by women is a system in which the person elected must be female but not necessarily a feministM
(Arscott and Trimble, 1997: 365) . On the other hand,
"representatives for women is a system in which the person elected can be of either sex but must rnake womenfs concerns a guiding force in his or her activitiesw (Arscott and
Trimble, 1997: 365). Because of these differences, Arscott and Trimble (1997) argue that ideal representatives of women should be female and feminist. They contend that men can be supportive of these concerns but they cannot claim to speak for womenls interests (Arscott and Trimble, 1997).
Once again, it is unfair to assume that only feminist female legislators can represent womenfs issues. Clearly feminist female legislators can represent the views of many women. However, because of the differences between women, it is also important that the viewpoints of women who are not supportive of feminism be represented at the legislative level. Indeed, female legislators who are anti-feminist can represent the concerns of women who support these daims. 26
We cannot argue that only feminist legislators can represent
women, because it will alienate the interests of women who
are not feminist.
They also argue that feminist theorists must also study
how the structures of political parties can have an impact
on female legislators ' ability to represent women. Arscott
and Trimble (1997) argue that theorists must study the
political culture of the party system and whether or not
parties are committed to women's concerns. Feminist
theorists must analyse the ideology of each political party
and how it influences the behaviour of female legislators.
Another area of concern is the nature of each party that has been elected into the legislature. For example., feminist political theorists must question how left or right wing parties define the character of political debate. They must study whether or not competition between elected parties will hinder or promote women's issues. Furthermore, a female representative's position of power in the legislature can be just as important as electing more women into political parties. Feminist political scientists should also study whether or not female legislators have been appointed into key cabinet positions. Finally, a female 27 legislator's stance on women's issues can have an impact on
whether or not she will make a difference for al1 women
(Arscott and Trimble, 1997) .
Arscott and Trimble (1997) provide an informative
explanation of the obstacles fernale legislators may
experience when introducing women's issues into political
debate. Unlike liberal feminist theory, they provide a
useful mode1 on how new theories on women and representation
can be developed.
Nevertheless, there are problems with their final
argument. Female legislators have different perspectives on
women's issues. Although pro-feminist women can play an
essential role in representing the concerns of many women,
they do not represent al1 women. It is important that
future theories also argue consider that anti-feminist
female politicians also speak for women who support this perspective.
In another article, Arscott (1995) argues that it is
difficult for feminist academics to develop new theories on
women's political repxesentation. She cautions that this
theory does not exist "in part because feminists disagree
about the general purpose that electoral representation is 28 to serve" (Arscott, 1995: 56). Arscott (1995) notes that some feminists argue that if a legislature was comprised entirely of female politicians, women would have achieved equality at the legislative level, There are obvious problems with this group's argument. Equality between men and women camot be achieved if no men are represented at the legislative level. No doubt, this group is repeating the same mistakes as early liberal theories. Clearly this feminist group is advocating that only women are best-suited for representing the concerns of al1 citizens. On the contrary, a legislature can only be democratic if both men and women are fairly represented.
Other feminists stress that female representatives must also promote ferninist principles once in office.
Another group also cautions that female legislators may not adequately promote the full range of feminist views once they enter public office (Arscott, 1995: 56) . Finally, '' even in a Parliament made up of many women and some men it is conceivable that a large proportion of many women elected would not necessarily be feminist women, or at least the right kind or kinds of feminist women" (Arscott, 1991: 56).
Future theories on womenrs political representation 29 should not presume that al1 female legislators should think
identically on issues conceming women. It does not appear
that the concerns of anti-feminist women axe incorporated
into these theories. Because there are both feminist and
non-feminist women in society, it is essential that new
theories study why these diverse concerns be represented at
the legislative level. We cannot solely assume that only
feminist female legislators can only represent women's
concerns, because it would exclude the interests of women who do not support feminism.
Chantal Maille (1997) provides further analysis on the need for new theories on women's political representation.
Like Arscott and Trimble (1997), she stresses that wornen's concerns should receive greater attention in the decision- making process. Maille provides a clearer focus on how structural change can be achieved. She argues that more pro-feminist women legislators should be recruited into public office. Women £rom the feminist movement must encourage their members to become involved in the dominant areas of politics. Finally, feminist theorists " must start thinking about what changes should be brought Co existing political institutions so that they may be better suited to 30 the needs of a feminist political plan of actionft (Maille,
1997: 62) .
However, Maille (1997) does not mention whether this change would occur in al1 parties or only in left-wing parties. Right-wing parties may not support the argument that only pro-feminist women should be encouraged to run for office. They would most likely argue that right-wing women can also represent the concerns of women who support this perspective.
It is clearly essential that more feminist women become active in politics, because they can play a valuable role in representing the interests of many women who support feminism. However, a democracy should not organize itself to promote the election of people who only think in a certain way. It is also important that people who have diverse perspectives are fairly represented at the legislative level. As we have seen, there are feminist and non-feminist women, and both groups should be represented through legislative politics. We must not solely encourage feminist women to run for public office, because it would be unfair to women who are not feminist.
As we have seen, feminist theorists have pursued the question of women's political representation from a different angle than that of predominantly liberal feminist theories. Because of this factor, feminists who are critical of liberal feminism, have provided an informative discussion on women's role as legislators. Instead of advocating that an increase in female legislators will achieve equality for women on the same basis as men, these feminists have stressed how female politicians should behave once they are elected. They argue that political parties and legislative structures require changes in order to ensure that female legislators can adequately represent women's interests. They also argue that an increase in the number of female representatives will not necessarily mean that these women will be feminist. Feminist theorists also argue that even if female legislators are feminist, they may have different perspectives on women's issues.
Even though these feminist theorists have stressed that party and legislative processes must be modified, there has not been enough analysis on how this can be achieved. Our discussion of Maille's (1997) writings however, did point out that the feminist movement can play a valuable role in pushing for these reforms. In any case, future theories on the political representation of women must continue to
analyse why parties and electoral systems require changes
and how this can be realized.
Despite the many strengths of these theories, there are
several problems with their analysis. They do not argue
that the views of non-feminist women should also be
represented at the legislative level. New theories should
also raise the argument that it is important that the views
of feminist and non-feminist women are represented by
legislators.
Concludina Remayks
This chapter has shown that original liberal theories on political representation excluded women £rom politics.
Because women were viewed as being ill-suited for the public sphere, the concerns of women and the family were not discussed in the decision-making process.
However, this chapter has also covered early liberal feminists responses to these theories. They argued that women should have the same educational opportunities as men and must have an equal access to the public realm. 33
Nonetheless, they do not discuss how women's presence in the
public world would make a difference.
Our discussion of contemporary liberal feminism
pointed out that even though this theory pushes for womenfs
increased activity in the decision-making process, they do
not explain how female legislators can bring womenfs diverse
perspectives into public debate. In other words,
contemporary liberal feminists do not discuss how party and
legislative institutions might hinder female legislators
from promot ing women' s concerns .
Owing to this problem, feminist theorists now argue
that female legislators must promote womenfs concerns once
they enter public office. As we have seen, future theories on this issue are also need because the perspectives of
feminist and non-feminist women should be promoted by
legislators. Although these feminist promote structural reforms of parties, there has not yet been adequate discussion on how this can be achieved. As this thesis develops, it will become increasingly evident that these questions require further investigation. The remaining chapters will focus on these questions in a more empirical manner and will argue why electoral systems and 34 parliamentary reforms are required in order for female legislators to be more representative of both feminist and non-feminist women. Future theories on women's political representation must, therefore, concentrate on why these refoms are necessary, and how these changes can be realized. Because of the rise of second-wave feminism in the
1960's and 19701s,many Canadian and Scandinavian women's groups mobilized to increase the number of female legislators in their Parliaments. Questions remain on how influential this movement was in encouraging women to enter party politics during this period.
This chapter will focus on this issue. It will be argued that even though women in each of these systerns fought and won the vote, this did not equal an effective influence on public policy. The issues which triggered a revival of the feminist movement in each system will then be explained. Following this brief account, the chapter will analyse the nature and impact of women's groups on increasing the numbers of female legislators in these countries. It will be shown that Norwegian and Swedish women's groups were more successful at helping women achieve greater political representation than their Canadian counterparts.
35 36
eu
act on gartv ~olrtics. . in cana-.
In the early history of Canadian politics, women did not have the right to vote. Because women could not exercise the vote or run for public office, they could not promote their interests through public policy. Sylvia
Bashevkin (1994) argues that women's lack of influence in political parties explains why the role of women was not recognized in Canadian institutions.
Nevertheless, in the late 19th century and early
19001s,women rnobilized and fought for the right to vote because they wanted to have an influence on policy through enfranchisement. It is important to note that women mainly struggled for the vote and not for the right to enter public office. This situation "resulted in large part from the ideological position adopted by mainstream suffragistç, which ...assumed that fernales would spread a mantle of purity from their private ...sphere to the public, political domain"
(Bashevkin, 1994:447). Furthermore, it was suggested by some suffragists that women were il1 suited for the corrupt world of party politics (Bashevkin, 1994) . 37 Owing to womenrs struggle for enfranchisement, governments responded in the early part of the 20th century and granted women voting rights. The Union government granted women the vote only in the context of the pro- conscription policies during WWI. In order to win support for conscription during 1917, they granted the vote to women who were over 21 and had family members serving in the war.
Because women helped re-elect the pro-conscription
Consewative government, al1 women received the vote in 1918
(Bashevkin, 1993). Canadian women also won the provincial vote close to this period. Manitoba gave women enfranchisement in 1916. Alberta, Saskatchewan, British
Columbia, and Ontario granted the vote in 1917. Within the
~aritimeregion, Nova Scotia granted suffrage in 1918, and
New Brunswick women won the vote in 1919. Women in PEI would have to wait until 1922, while female Quebeckers did not receive the vote until 1940 (Matheson and Lang, 1976).
Although women received the right to hold public office at the national level in 1919, the nurnber of female politicians was few and far between for several decades thereafter. For example, from 1919 to 1970, there were 134 federal and provincial elections. Of the 6,845 elected 38
legislators, only 67 were female (Vickers and Brodie, 1981 :
53). Additionally, it was not until 1929 that women could
be appointed to the Senate (Kome, 1985).
ceal- an effective
imnact on ~artv~ollt-a . via.
Like women in Canada, Norwegian and Swedish women did
not have a role in the political process in the formative
stages of these countries. Scandinavian women were also
tied to the private sphere, and this world was seen as politically irrelevant for public policy. Similar to
Canadian men, Scandinavian men developed the original
structures of the political systems. Owing to women's role
in the private sphere and their exclusion from politics,
their interests did not figure in the developrnent of
Scandinavian party politics (Hernes, 19 87) .
Similar to Canadian women, Scandinavian women struggled
for the right to vote in order to have an impact on public policy. As in Canada, Swedish and Norwegian women won the vote in the early 20th century. Furthermore, they also won
the vote in the context of foreign affairs. Because Norwegian and Swedish women were excluded from the referendum on dissolving Norway's union with Sweden, women mobilized in support of enfranchisement. This generated a high level of public support and parties were forced to respond by granting women the vote (Skard and Haavio-
Mamila, 1985 1 . In Sweden, women were granted local enfranchisement in 1918, and won the vote in national politics in 1921. Norwegian women were awarded the local vote in 1910, and won the national vote in 1913 (Skard and
Haavio-Mamila, 1985).
Women in Norway and Sweden were also under-represented in Parliament for many decades. For example, women's share of the Norwegian Storting was below 10 percent before the
1960 l s (Bystydzienski, 1994 : 56) . During this period,
Swedish women only comprised below 14 percent of the Riksdag
(Eduards, 1981: 216).
Women had little impact over the decision-making process in the early development of Canadian, Norwegian, and
Swedish party politics. Even though voting rights were an important step toward gender equality, it did not result in equal representation in legislative politics. although women in both systems could vote and run for public office, 40 they still remained under-represented in these countries.
Women's groups in both of these systems learned that exercising the vote was important, but this right did not ensure wamen's equality with men.
Infl lience of the Ferniut. # Mo vernent on Canadian Pol~tical. .
2arties
Because women were not actively involved in Canadian party politics, they did not play a role in forming policy which had an impact on their daily lives. It is important to note that Canadian political parties were not extensively involved in developing public policy. During the early part of this century, parties were involved in patronage politics where they mainly focused on rewarding loyal party mernbers with political appointments. Following the patronage era, parties were involved in brokerage politics, and primarily concentrated on accommodating regional interests across
Canada. It was not until the post-Depression years when parties really started to develop policy (Carty, 1992). It is not surprising, then, that there was not far-reaching policies concerning women before the development of the 41 welfare-state.
Despite the introduction of the welfare-state and the
allocation of voting rights, women still suffered obstacles
under this system. By the 19601s, women were gaining
increased access to higher education and participation in
the workforce, but they still retained their
responsibilities in the home. Women did not move as quickly
into influential employment as their male CO-workers and
often detected a glass ceiling that prevented them from
advancing to higher positions in governmental and corporate hierarchies (Black, 1993) . To make matters worse, many women could not even gain access into high paid employment because of their primary household responsibilities and the absence of day care facilities (Black, 1993; Cohen, 1993).
Given these problems, women's groups mobilized and pressured governments to recognize and address the plight of
Canadian women and argued for a federal royal commission on the status of women. In response, the Pearson Government set up a commission in 1967, and its report was issued in
1970 (Cohen, 1993; Bashevkin, 1993). Through discussion and interviews with women across Canada, the Commissioners documented the many areas of Canadian society in which women 42 experienced oppression. However, women in politics was not
the focal point of the document. The Report merely touched
on the lack of representation of women within politics and
mainly studied a wide array of other public policy areas in
which women experienced inequality.
Nevertheless, the Report argued that Canada would gain
£rom an increased involvement of women in politics. If women became more actively involved in politics, they would have an important impact on their community and could
influence public policy (RC, 1970). The Report also did note why women have experienced barriers in public life.
They explained that male party elites assume that women would not perform as well as men and should not be involved in politics. Even worse, many women do not feel comfortable in dite positions. Because of these constraints, the
Report argued that "women will not have an equal opportunity to take advantage of these steps to power as long as they are hampered by their own di£fidence ... (the) hostility of others, or their lack of mobility due to family responsibilities" (RC, 1970 :352) .
However, the Report did not suggest that the entire
Canadian party structure should be refomed. Instead, the 43
Commissioners argued that ' if any Canadian federal party is seriously considering the importance of women in public life ...it should commit itself to supporting a mechaniçm by which women could have an equitable proportion of (elected) seats" (RC, 1970: 341) . Moreover, the Report did not suggest that women' s involvement in politics should be a top priority of Canadian political parties. On the contrary, the Report merely advised that political parties should have the choice about whether or not they wish to recruit more women elites (RC, 1970) . No doubt, if the Commissioners had studied this problem more carefully they would have realized that parties would only pursue an effective solution to this problem if the goal for increasing the nurnber of female politicians was made part of a party's constitution or required by law.
Why did the Commission not focus on why women were not active in political parties? Many feminist academics argue that there was lack of attention on women in politics because the wornenrs movement was divided. Even though major groups such as liberal , marxist, and radical feminists al1 agreed that women did not experience equality in Canadian society, they differed in their approach and philosophy concerning this problem.
As we saw in the last chapter, liberal feminists did
not advocate that the entire Canadian political system be
changed. They merely stressed that women would enjoy
equality on the same level as men once they entered
influential institutions such as political parties (Code,
1993) . This group felt that women could work within the
present system and lobby the government to include their
views in the decision-making process (Vickers, 1993). Given
this perspective, the government was more accommodating
toward the views of liberal feminists. For example, liberal
feminists primarily led the campaign for the Royal
Commission and it is not surprising, then, that their views were largely incorporated into the report (Black, 1993).
Not surprisingly, they did not work well with Marxist
feminists who felt that women remained oppressed because of
capitalism. The latter felt that women'ç responsibilities
in the home were undervalued, because they did not receive a wage for their work. Furthemore, women also often found
themselves in low-paid and uninfluential employment in
comparison to men (Code, 1993). Radical feminists agreed with the arguments made by Marxist wornen's groups. However, they also argued that sexism is rooted in patriarchal
families, gender stereotyping and rape (Code, 1993: 42).
Despite the differences between marxist and radical
feminists, both groups advocated ' public demonstrations,
boycotts, and strikes (as means) ...of effecting change"
(Vickers, 1993: 75). Unlike liberal feminists, they argued
that 'the basic issue.. . (that has to be addressed is) . . .that
the problem of the status of women was symptomatic of the
fundamental problem of the system itself" ( Vickers, 1993:
75).
It is also important to note that reforming political
parties was not a major focus for these groups. Judy
Rebick, former president of the National Action Committee on
the Status of Women (NAC), made this very argument during a
recent interview for this study. She argued that "radical
and socialist feminists primarily view electoral politics as a male thing" (Rebick, interview, 1996) .
Although radical £eminists generally have not been active in the area of political parties, there has been a
small group of these women who did concentrate on this
issue. For example, toward the end of the 1970ts,the
Feminist Party of Canada was created. These women felt that 46
''a feminist party was the only method that could truly be
representative of womenfs needs and desire for change
(because they would) be faced with the formidable task of
turning the vision into policy and policy into strategyu
(Cohen, 1993:94). Despite these efforts, the Feminist
Party did not win a single electoral seat and no longer
exists (Cohen, 1993) .
In any case, as we saw during our discussion of the
Royal Commission, the liberal feminist view dominated the rnovement during this period. Indeed, Sandra Burt ( 1993 ) , a
Canadian feminist academic, has documented the important
impact liberal feminists have had on party politics and public policy. Liberal feminists were more successful than
the other groups because they did not advocate drastic refoms of Canada's liberal democratic system and as a result were more acceptable to established parties and government. Indeed, Paul Pross (1992) makes this very argument. He explains that "groups drawing their membership
£rom the mainstream of society are more likely to be able to win sympathy and support frorn the broader cornmunity and to tap into widely held beliefs than are groups located on the fringe" (Pross, 1992: 103) . 47 This section has argued that the Royal Commission did
not concentrate enough on why the structures of political
parties require modifications. Even though the document
stressed that it is important for women to become active in
party politics, it did not explicitly state how women could
make a difference once they enter the legislature.
Arguments have also been made that women in party politics
was not the focal point of the Report partly owing to the
divisions within the Canadian feminist movement. Because
radical and marxist feminists differed from liberal
feminists in their approach toward achieving equality for
women, they did nat work well together. Furthermore,
radical and marxist feminists were distrustful of
traditional parties and did not focus on how this system
could be reformed. Finally, we also saw that liberal
feminists dominated the early part of the movement and this
explains why their views on party politics were primarily portrayed through the report. The Tmqact of CmWomen' s Or~ationswithin trad~. trou1 * gola. tical. nqties -
As we saw in the last section, the women' s rnovement did not concentrate on how women could achieve greater
Parliamentary representation. Because this was not a major concern for feminist groups outside of political parties, it is important to look at how women worked toward reforming the system within traditional parties.
Many feminist academics have argued that before the
1960's and 197O1s, women's organizations performed unimportant tasks for parties (Bashevkin, 1993; Myers, 1989;
Erickson, 1993 . It is important to note that the Royal
Commission on the Status of Women was also openly critical of women's auxiliaries. ' This commission characterized women's roles in the parties as supportive and recommended that women's associations be 'amalgamated with the main bodies of the parties' " ( Erickson, 1993 : 63 1 .
Bashevkin(l993) argues that women's organizations in the
Tory, Liberal, and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(CCF) party did not play a role in policy-making or in increasing the representation of women legislators. To put 49 it simply, women in each of these parties mainly provided
"support services to mainstream party organizations,
..., raised money through banquets, luncheons, bazaars, cookbooks and other similar projects* (Bashevkin, 1993:
114) .
Patricia Myers (1989) provides an informative analysis of how the National Federation of Liberal Women (NFLW) began to question their effectiveness within the Liberal party.
Women party membexs in the 1960's and 1970's "wanted to be directly involved with the formation of new policies to be presented to the electorate, and with the decisions concerning the best way to advertise the Liberal position"
(Myers, 1989: 47). Indeed, in 1973 the Liberal party dismantled its national women's auxiliary and replaced it with the National Women's Libexal Commission (NWLC). The
NWLC differed from the auxiliary because it was integrated into the main Liberal party structure (Erickson, 1993). The main purpose of "this organization (was) to represent and promote the interests of women within the Liberal Party of
Canada and to encourage the active participation of women at al1 levels of the party" (Bashevkin, 1993 : 128) .
In addition to the divisions between feminist groups, older women who belonged to the auxiliary had difficulty forming coalitions with younger feminists. In the words of one NWLC executive: "at one extreme you find those ...who are very integrated with the federal mainstream, while at the other you find groups of £am women, for example, who retain something of an auxiliary mentality" (Bashevkin, 1993: 128).
Despite these divisions, the NWLC has actively worked toward increasing women's levels of political participation. Women party members have thus pressured their own party to recruit more female candidates (CACSW, 1988:19).
Erickson (1993) notes that the Tory party integrated its womenfs organization into the main party structure much later than the Liberals. In 1980, the women's auxiliary was amalgamated into the Conservative party and is now known as the National Progressive Conservative Women's Federation
(NPCWF). Like the NWLC, the NPCWF "provides a formal executive structure for the representation of women in the party (and). . . (its goal is) to encourage and assist women to become involved in the party (Erickson, 1993:65).
Bashevkin (1993) argues that the NPCWF also experienced organizational divisions between older womenrs groups and feminist party members. These divisions occurred because 51 the older women's groups were used to providing support for the party and the "newer party women's groups tend to emphasize increased fernale representation in party activities (Bashevkin, 1993:132). Nevertheless, like the
NWLC, the NPCWF has played a valuable role in encouraging more women to run for the Tory party.
Women in the national CCF (later the NDP) never had a separate women's auxiliary. Nevertheless, despite the social democratic orientation of the party, women prirnarily were involved in providing support services for the party and were not actively involved in policy-making (Erickson,
1993; Bashevkin, 1993) . However, during the 19601s ' Eva
Latham, the director of NDP wornen's activities, observed
(that) 'younger women were seeking answers to persona1 and community problems and were not just interested in fund- raising and social activit.ies' " (Bashevkin, 1993 :125) .
Because NDP women wanted to have a greater impact on their party, a Participation of Women (POW) Committee was created at the national level in 1969 (Bashevkin, 1993).
"This new group, a standing cornmittee appointed by the federal council, was 'to assist and encourage woments participation in al1 forms of political activity'" 52
(Bashevkin, 1993: 125). Furthemore, it is interesting to note that the Waffle group, a radical left wing faction that was organized within the NDP, also had an impact on encouraging greater discussion of women's issues (Bashevkin,
1993: 126). However, because of the radical left-wing nature of the Waffle group, the members of this faction were expelled £rom the NDP. Owing to the Waffle groupts connection with women members, many of the partyfs establishment grew suspicious of the increasing nurnber of feminist NDP women (Bashevkin, 1993) .
Despite these problems, the POW committee has achieved many important inroads for NDP women. For example, this committee spearheaded an affirmativs-action program which now ensures that there is sex parity on al1 national committees (Burt and Lorenzin, 1997: 208). This group, in turn, has helped ensure that NDP female members are now more actively involved in developing party policy. It is also interesting to note that many NDP women have also joined
NAC, and are thus directly comected with the feminist movement (Burt and Lorenzin, 1993). Like the Liberal and
Tory women's organizations, NDP female members have developed programs which help women candidates run their campaigns (Erickson, 1993). As we shall see in the next chapter, these programs have played an instrumental role in encouraging women to run for elected office.
In each of these parties, female legislators were also vital in raising awareness of the political underrepresentation of women. For example, Liberal MF, Judy
LaMarsh, who was the sole female Cabinet Minister in the
Pearson Government, pushed her party to set up the Royal
Commission on the Status of Women. Indeed "she urged Prime
Minister Pearson to create something like the RCSW practically from moment she was elected" (Kome, 1985: 83).
Tory MP, Flora MacDonald, also advocated women's issues when she was elected to the House of Commons. Sydney Sharpe
(1994) says Chat MacDonald played a key role when briefing
Progressive Conservative leader, Brian Mulroney, for the
1984 election debate on women's issues hosted by NAC
(chapter 5). Furthermore, MacDonald, and another fernale
Tory MP, Jocelyn Cote-OIHara,also informed their male co- workers on women's concerns during this election. In the words of Cote-OIHara 'we covered women's organizations, language to use around women, ...party politics and major issues ...1 think the MPs felt better equipped afterwards" (Kome, 1985: 187) .
Rosemary Brown, an NDP MLA in the BC legislature,
focused on women's issues as a key part of her campaign for
the NDP federal leadership race in 1975. The key message of her campaign was that "since ferninism embodied justice
for women, socialism was not possible where sexism in any form existed" (Brown, 1989: 159). Furthemore, during her bid for the leadership race, many pro-feminist women actively helped her run her campaign. Brown finished a surprisingly strong second in the convent ion, a landmark the political history of Canadian women (Brown, 1989).
This section has demonstrated that the Canadian women's movement experienced ideological divisions during the
1970's. Arguments have also been made that feminist groups did not concentrate enough on transforming traditional party politics. However, our discussion also indicated that the feminist movement did have an impact on the values and attitudes of women inside of party organizations.
As we saw, women party members no longer accepted performing supportive tasks for the party establishment, but wanted greater involvernent in developing party policy.
Because of their protests, women's committees have been 55 reformed and have actively encouraged more women to run for elected office. Moreover, female legislators have helped reform their party's attitude toward womenfs issues.
Despite the impact of the feminist movement on the political culture of womenfs party organizations, problems still remain. If the feminist movement had have worked together across ideological lines on this issue, they may have an even greater impact on encouraging more women to run for public office. It will become more evident as this chapter unfolds that if feminists actively promote women's participation inside of traditional parties, they can have an important effect on women's recruitment into legislative office.
The No rwe~ian wornenl s Mo vement and Part~sanshb
Like Canadian women's groups, Norwegian feminists mobilized in response to such issues as abortion or sexual assault. They openly criticized the statels lack of attention toward poverty and women. Furthemore, many groups spoke out against the injustice of patriarchal societies which exclude women £rom positions of power 56
(Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985) .
There are also other similarities between the Canadian and Norwegian women's movement. The Norwegian New Feminists mobilized during the 1960's and criticized capitalism and the fact that women experienced greater levels of poverty than men. Similar to Canada, ' the Women's Front was fonned ...as a counterpart to the New Feminists ...and demanded a more explicit Socialist women's policy" (Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985: 25). Other feminist groups developed in
Norway, and offered different perspectives on women's struggles. For example, the Lesbian movement emerged in
1975 and demanded that women's groups acknowledge issues such as sexual orientation (Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985) .
Norwegian feminist groups, across the ideological spectrum, had an impact on influencing legislation concerning women. For instance, they successfully pressured the government to implement the 1972 Equal Status Act, which aimed for gender equity in the work force. These groups also had an influence on the introduction of pro-abortion legislation in 1973 and state financed crisis centres which were first introduced in 1978. These crisis centres help victims of domestic violence (Van der Ros, 1994). 57 Like Canada, liberal feminists were actively involved in the Norwegian women's movement. Bystydzienski (1995) explains that these groups represented traditional women's organizations that had been previously involved in the suffrage era. "These organizations had a longstanding tradition of fighting for women's rights and sex equality by working within the political system; they were rather hierarchically structured and committed to reform"
(Bystydzienski, 1995 : 3 9) .
As in Canada, many women's organizations inside of
Norway's political parties such as those in the Labour
Party, Centre Party, and Christian Democratic Party, had previously been involved in helping the local party elite run election campaigns and other party functions (Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985) . With the rise of Norwegian second-wave feminism, they also played a significant role in encouraging women' s political participation (Dahlerup and Gulli, 19851 .
Nonetheless, there were differences between the degree of activity of Norway's socialist and non-socialist wornenls organizations before and during second-wave feminism. Jan
Sundberg (1995) notes that women in the socialist parties were more active than their non-socialist counterparts in 58 encouraging more women to exercise their voting rights
during the early 19001s(p.86). During the initial phases of
the second-wave of the women's movement, non-socialist women
became actively involved in encouraging more women to run
for public office. However, socialist women had a greater
impact on encouraging their party to recruit more female
candidates (Sundberg, 1995:105).
Clearly Norway had similar streams of feminism as its
Canadian counterpart. However, despite the diversity in
Norwegian feminism, women did work together in support of womenrs recruitment into elected office. Hege Skjeie
(1995), a Nomegian feminist academic, argues that £rom the
start, feminists outside of the political system built
coalitions with women inside of political parties. She explains that feminists across ideological lines agreed that
"gender constitutes an important political category that needs to be fully represented in government" (Skjeie, 1995:
214).
Other feminist scholars have made similar arguments.
Bystydzienski (1995) notes that even though new feminists often worked in areas such as day care centres, women's shelters, and conscious-raising groups, they also thought that womenfs political participation was worthy of
attention: "the two strands of the women's movement rnerged
the notions that wornen had the right and duty to be
represented in politics ...and that women had different concerns and experiences to bring into the political arena"
(Bystydzienski, 1995 : 51) .
Joni Lovenduski (1986), a ferninist academic who studies
European politics, sheds further light on why Norwegian womenrs groups formed alliances in this area. She argues that feminists realized that in welfare state societies, which develop social policies that influence woments lives, a feminist perspective in the decision-making process is essential. In her own words: " in welfare states, where ço many of the necessities of life are filtered through state agencies, it is difficult for the women's movement to avoid traditional approaches to the policy agenda" (Lovenduski,
1986: 87) .
Although Norwegian ferninists had different perspectives on achieving equality for women, they did cross ideological lines on the issue of women's political representation.
Skjeie (1995) argues that this greatly differs £rom other countries which did not build stable alliances with one another in support of women's political participation in party politics. Clearly, the lack of mobility on this issue amongst Canadian feminists is an excellent case in point.
Norwegian feminists were thus more successful than the
Canadian women's rnovement in this area, because they built strong coalitions with one another on this issue. Unlike
Canada, Norwegian women had more ideologically sympathetic parties to work in, and chose the partisan route more readily than Canadian feminists. Despite the differences, between socialist and non-socialist womenrs organizations, both groups did have a significant influence on their parties to recruit more female candidates.
The Im~actof women's arouns on Swedish Parties durinq second- wave feminisq. .
The Swedish womenrs movement never organized on as large a scale as Canada and Norway. However, various streams of feminism did emerge in Sweden duxing the 1960's and 1970's. For example, "Group 811, was concerned with lower class women's struggles. They also focused on issues 61 such as patriarchy, sexuality, and prostitution (Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985) . "Working Women" was another Swedish feminist organization. However, this "group ...preferred to stand by a traditional Marxist analysis and the belief that working women were the movementls target group" (Dahlerup and Gulii, 1985:29). Like Canada and Norway, liberal feminists were also actively involved in the Swedish women's movement. For instance, the Fredrika Bremer League, a women's group who had previously been involved in the suffrage era, actively encouraged the political participation of women in mainstream politics (Gelb,
1989:148) .
Sweden also still has the most widespread number of women's organizations inside of political parties in comparison to the other Nordic countries (Dahlerup and
Gulli, 1985) . These women's organizations include the
National Federation of Social Democratic Women, the
Conservative Women's Federation, and the Centre Party
Women's Federation (Dahlerup and Gulli, 1985). Like Canada and Norway, these groups had been primarily involved in helping the local party with election campaigns, and other events. As a result of the feminist movement, these groups 62 have played an important role in encouraging more women to
run for elected office (Dahlerup & Gulli, 1985) .
Similar to Canada and Norway, there are differences
between socialist and non-socialist wornenfs organizations.
Like Norway, the Swedish Social Democratic womenfs group was more extensively involved in pushing for womenfs
enfranchisement and on mobilizing women to exercise their voting rights after 1918 and 1921 (Sundberg,1995:86). Even though both groups were actively involved in encouraging the election of more female candidates, socialist women had a greater impact on presçuring their party to increase the number of women at the legislative level (Sundberg,
1995:102). As in Norway, the degree of a partyfs sensitivity toward gender equity can influence whether they will respond to the demands of womenfs organizations on this issue (Sundberg, 1995).
Despite the similarities with Canada and Norway,
Swedish womenfs groups organized differently. Unlike
Canada, and to a lesser extent Norway, Swedish women were already well integrated into the party system (Anderson,
1991). Diane Sainsbury (1993), a Swedish political scientist, notes that women chose to work in the mainstream political parties. Furthemore, she explains that many
feminist issues such as reproductive rights and womenJs
equality were quickly incorporated into the policy agendas
of political parties because of womenfs active involvement
in these organizations. Clearly, \\suchresponses lent credibility to the perceptions that working through party channels could pay of fM (Sainsbury, 1993 : 276; Sweden,
1993) . In fact, these organizations have helped women enter the legislative arena. For instance, a large number of
Social Democratic and Centre party women have entered the
Riksdag because of their involvement in women's organizations (Sainsbury, 1993 : 276) .
In sumrnary, Swedish women did not organize in the same way as Canada and Norway. Thus, Sweden did not have a large number of ferninist groups organized outside of the party system. Similar to Norway, however, Swedish women believed that change could be effected through traditional parties.
They differed , therefore, from Canadian feminists who were distrustful of mainstream party organizations. This chapter has examined the nature and the history of the women's movement in Canada, Norway and Sweden. Our study of Canadian feminist groups demonstrated that increasing the political representation of women was not the focal point of these groups for many years. Even though women's groups inside of party politics did work toward increasing the number of fernale legislators, their voice could have been stronger if solid alliances had been created with other Canadian feminists outside of mainstream politics.
Like Canada, the Norwegian women's movement contained many different schools of feminist thought. However, unlike
Canada, these groups did create strong alliances on the issue of women's political representation. Because of these coalitions, the Norwegian feminist movement had a powerful voice on the importance of increasing the political participation of women inside of the legislative arena.
Unlike Canada and Norway, Sweden' s women' s movement was not as extensive outside of party politics. Instead, women in Sweden have organized themselves inside the mainstream 65 political parties. Here they actively advocated increasing the numbers of female legislators. In many significant areas, the parties have responded to their demands.
In essence, Swedish and Norwegian women appear to have been more successful than Canadian feminists on this issue.
Swedish and Norwegian feminists believed that their influence could change political parties. To some extent, as will be seen, the Swedish and Norwegian electoral systems and party ideologies are more favourable than Canada's structure in this respect. Canadian feminists can learn
£rom the efforts of Norwegian and Swedish women. Canadian ferninists must become more vocal on the importance of women's political participation because "women'ç experiences
(could) represent a valuable contribution to decision making" (Skjeie, 1995: 214) . . Chaater 4- Woments Rec-d N0mi-t ion into polltlca.
Norwav and Sweden
As in other western democracies, women have not been
fairly represented in the Canadian House of Commons.
Nonetheless, women have made impressive electoral gains in
Norway and Sweden. Why have Norwegian and Swedish women enjoyed greater legislative representation than their
Canadian counterpart?
This chapter will attempt to answer this question by studying the electoral processes in these systems.
Statistics of wornen's recruitment and selection by political parties in Canada, Norway and Sweden will first be offered.
An analysis of Canada's party finance laws will demonstrate the obstacles women experience at the electoral and nomination level. Following this analysis, the chapter will compare and contrast the ideological differences between each of the parties, and the efforts each have made toward advancing the number of women in electoral office.
Assessments will be made about why Scandinavian women have achieved greater political representation by studying the proportional representation system, party finance laws, and
66 67 party ideology in Norwegian and Swedish party politics.
This section will also shed light on why lesser barriers in
Scandinavia may have encouraged womenfs groups to work through parties and elections more so than in Canada.
Arguments will be made that electoral systems, party finances, and party ideology can have an impact on womenfs recruitment into public office.
How have women fared in Dartv ~oliticsin Canada, Norwav and
Sweden?
Before discussing the differences between electoral systems, it is necessary to note the gains that Canadian,
Norwegian, and Swedish women have registered. Even though there is a long process ahead before women become fully and equally represented within Canadian political parties, several recent gains have been accomplished. Table 1.1
(appendix 1) demonstrates that in 1980, women held few seats in the House of Commons. Following the 1984 and 1988 elections, these numbers gradually increased. As a result of the 1993 election, the representation of women increased to 18 percent (Sharpe, 1994) .
Women in Norway and Sweden have enjoyed even greater
success . In Norway, table 1.1 (appendix 1) reveals that
women candidates achieved even more seats in 1980 than their
Canadian counterpart presently hold. The number of elected
Norwegian female MPs increased even more in 1985 and 1990.
Finally, they won an impressive number of seats in 1993
(Bystyzienski, 1995: 45) .
The representation of women in the Swedish Riksdag has
also gradually increased (table 1.1, appendix 1). Like
Norway, Swedish female MPs held even more seats in 1980 than
Canadian women have currently registered. Once again, the
number of women MPs rose to impressive levels in 1985 and
1990. After, the 1994 election, the number of women
legislators escalated to its highest level (Bystyzienski,
1995: 45; Froman, 1994 : 4) .
Table 1.1 illustrates that the representation of women
in politics is increasing in Canada, Norway and Sweden.
However, questions remain concerning the greater electoral
inroads that Norwegian and Swedish women have achieved in
comparison to their Canadian counterpart. Why have Swedish
and Norwegian women been more successful at the electoral level than women candidates in Canada? In the remaining sections of this chapter, the electoral processes, party finances, and party ideology of these systems will be studied. Arguments will be made that specific electoral systems can either impede or improve women's chances of entering public office.
How does the sin le- mernber constrtuencv svstem work in Canada?
Under the single-member constituency system, only one candidate can win a party nomination. To put it simply, nomination systems are zero-sum contests where one candidate wins while the others lose. Canada's nomination process is also highly decentralized. Local riding executives have autonomy over which candidates will be nominated and there is a "lirnited capacity of the national party organization to play a significant role in important activities such as choosing candidates" (Carty, 1991: 104).
At the electoral level, the country is divided into voting districts and each elects only one candidate (Young,
1994). Voters then mark on the ballot paper their candidate choice. Following the vote, the candidate with the most
votes or a plurality of the vote wins the seat (Seidle,
1989). Under this system, ' the candidate with the most
votes wins, even if the majority of votes were spread out
among his or her opponents" (Arscott & Trimble, 1997: 352).
Does the sinqle - mernber constitilericv svstem- hinder womenls . . PartlcAQ&a&n
Women experience greater obstacles during the
nomination process than during the election. Several recent
studies have offered possible reasons for why this has been
the case. Becauçe the local party elite has control over which candidate is nominated, many Canadians have argued
that this system is anti-democratic (RCERPF, 1991:257).
They argue that because successful candidates usually have a
strong support network inside of the local party, it is unfair to opposing candidates such as women. "Individuals
and groups from many backgrounds and experiences (have also)
claimed that the selection process have become too
exclusionary, too expensive, and too open to abuse by local 71
party elites or narrowly defined interests" (RCERPF, 1991:
257). A recent survey of local party activities helps to
support these arguments. For example, Yorty percent of the
constituency associations confirmed that a 'core group of
the association pretty well decide among themselves on who
the candidate ought to be then work to get the individual nominated" (Carty, 1991: 110) .
Even though the nomination process has been the most challenging obstacle for women, it is difficult to assess whether or not local party elites are sexist or undernocratic. Indeed, feminist political scientists have not yet adequately demonstrated if the local party elite purposely excludes women candidates from running for an election. However, Bashevkin (1991) has documented that women are not concentrated in the local party executive.
Table 1.2 (appendix 1) reveals that ' figures £rom the three major federal parties, indicate that large numbers of women in al1 provinces continue to fulfill primarily secretarial functions in local party executives" (Bashevkin, 1993 : 72.).
Other feminist academics have argued that women are often not nominated into competitive ridings (Brodie, 1991).
They argue that women have also historically not had much political experience and constituencies often choose candidates who are well-known by the local district (Young,
1994). More importantly, feminist political scientists have argued that local party elites nominate candidates who have broad support networks and men have traditionally had these extensive connections (Young, 1994).
Rebick also made similar arguments during a recent interview conducted for this study. She explains that local constituencies give 'a lot of credit to someone who has done it before, been through the wars, and often those are men" (Rebick, interview, 1996) . Nova Scotia Liberal MLA,
Eleanor Norrie, also argues that the old boy's club is still there and it has hindered many women from winning the local nomination (Norrie, interview, 1996). Because of these problems, they argue that the result is a vicious circle where women cannot obtain the required political experience
(Rebick, interview, 1996 ; Norrie, interview, 1996) .
These arguments do not fully explain why women have experienced obstacles at the nomination level in Canada's single member constituency system. This problem requires further investigation before we can conclude why female candidates have experienced difficulties through this 73
electoral process. In any case, we cm argue that because
only one candidate can win a nomination or an electoral
seat, it is clearly difficult for this system to accurately
reflect the diverse groups in Canadian society.
C-1 Bo C-1 . . Finanre laws encouraae fair . . gart~cipatlonbetween candjdates at the nomination and
electoral level?
It is not solely the nature of single-member
constituencies that irnpedes women £rom participating
politically. This section will explain that financial
resources have been a barrier for women seeking to be
candidates. Nomination expenses are not regulated under
Canada's finance laws, and this can be unfair for some
candidates. Following this analysis, the chapter will briefly analyse the election finance rules of each of the political parties. An in-depth explmation will then be offered for why women can be disadvantaged by political
finances during the nomination process. 74 Canada's election laws do not provide any financial
provisions at the nomination level. Carty (1991), explains
that nominations are generally inexpensive. However, there
have been cases where the wiming candidate has out-spent
the opposing contestants when a nomination contest has been
highly cornpetitive. Indeed, he explains that 'the most
expensive nomination battles in 1988 saw the wimer and the
runner-up each spend $5000 or more" (Carty, 1991: 118).
Unlike interna1 party campaigns, the election expenses
of al1 parties and candidates are regulated. The 1974
Elections Expenses Act was designed in order to ensure that
al1 parties and candidates compete fairly with each other
during elections. Each party must be registered in the
election. Furthermore, a large portion of the election is
financed by tax-payers who receive income-tax credits for
their contributions, and parties and candidates receive
reimbursement for their expenses if they win more than 15 percent of the vote (Stanbury, 1991: 6). The Elections Act also controls the amount of money that a candidate or a party spends during an election. The Chief Electoral
Officer must also receive an annual report from each of the parties concerning their expenses and revenues. Finally, the act also regulates broadcasting because there are
restrictions on the amount of paid and free time broadcasts
a party can use (Stanbury, 1991; RCERPF, 1991; Ewing, 1992).
Like the Expenses Act, each of the traditional parties
have their own set of rules concerning how they finance
their election campaigns. As we shall soon see, it is
important that local ridings nominate candidates who have
strong financial networks, because this can help them win an
electoral seat (Carty, 1991). This section will primarily
concentrate on Stanbury's (1991) research, because he has done formative work in this field (Carty, 1991: 192).
The Conservatives have been the most resourceful in cornparison to the other parties in terms of their ability to finance a campaign. Following the development of the
Expenses Act, the PC party produced a policy which motivated its candidates to become less reliant on funding from headquarters. This strategy ensured that if candidates raised more money from individuals than they could spend, they would have a surplus after the election which can be useful for future campaigns (Standbury, 1991) . Given this tactic, local constituencies must find candidates who wi11 provide a positive image for the party, and also a support 76
network who will ensure that the constituency is financially
independent. Arguments can be made that these strategies
ensure that candidates becorne dependent on funding £rom
individuals and corporations.
Stanbury (1991) explains that even though the Liberals
have predominantly been the government party throughout
Canadian history, they have not out-spent the Conservative
party during campaigns and other party functions. However,
the Liberal party has taken steps which have made their
finance rules more structured and that they have enough money to finance their campaigns. For example, Liberal candidates must send approximately 50 percent of their total
funds raised £rom individuals during a campaign to party headquarters (Stanbury, 1991) . No doubt , the candidate who raises the most funds is a valuable asset for the party.
Clearly the Liberal partyfs rules are like the
Conservativesf. Because local constituencies must budget their expenses, they have a high degree of autonomy over their finances.
Unlike the Liberals and the Conservatives, the NDP finance rules are more egalitarian. Provinces where the
NDP is popular financially assist the NDP at the federal 77 and provincial level where the party is less popular. Under
this rule, the NDP has ensured that each constituency can compete on a more equal level during an election (Stanbury,
1991) . Even though the NDP is more centralized, it does have similarities with the Liberals and Conservatives. In other words, they ensure that local ridings are well-funded because this can help them win a seat. However, the NDP1s finance laws are fairer than the Liberal's and
Consemative's finance rules. Because the NDP helps £und candidates in less cornpetitive ridings, this indicates that the party is aware that some candidates are prevented £rom winning an electoral seat because of finances.
This overview has explained three main issues concerning party financing in Canada's single-rnember system.
Candidates who are pursuing a nomination are not regulated by party finance laws. Generally nominations are not expensive, but when they do becorne cornpetitive, they can be unfair to those candidates who have weaker political networks. Despite the regulation of finances during elections, money is an essential resource which contributes toward a partyrs political victory. Furtherrnore, the financial strength of a constituency and the moneyed 78 networks of the candidate must be maintained when pursuing a seat in the House of Commons. In other words, Canada's finance laws and individual party rules ensure that candidates must have widespread contacts with businesses, individuals, and interest groups. However, many questions remain. How do Canada's election finance laws have an impact on women's political participation?
How financial resources have had an Im~acton Wornen'~
Political Partlci~ation. . at the Nom ination level.
Owing to Our previous discussion of the role of party finance laws, we can now explain the impact of funding on women candidates. To put it simply, ' money, or the lack of it , S.. . a long-standing problem. . . (because} women candidates have always had less success than men in raising substantial amounts required to run effective carnpaigns"
(Sharpe, 1994: 171) . Brodie (1991) also explains that campaign expenditures have been an obstacle for women because often they do not have as many financial resources as their male counterparts. As a result, this problem is even worse at the nomination level. Brodie (1991) argues 79 that although the status of women is improving in al1 areas of employment, women are still concentrated in areas where they have little econornic and political influence.
Additionally, they are often in occupations where they cannot establish contacts with business, individuals, or wealthy interest groups (table 1.3; appendix 1).
Because women generally do not have these comections, it can be difficult for them to compete with their opponents especially when the nomination becomes expensive. As we saw earlier, candidates who do not have broad financial networks are hindered from winning competitive nominations. For example, Maria Minna, a Liberal MP in Toronto's Beaches-
Woodbine district experienced this obstacle. She states that in one nomination campaign it "cost (her) $70 000 ...and
(she) still lost" (Minna, interview, 1996).
However, Brodie (1991) demonstrates that even when nominations are not expensive, there are other factors which impede women's political participation. After extensively interviewing women who ran for public office during the 1988 federal election, she concludes that a large majority of women felt that clothing and child care costs were a significant obstacle. Another group stated that women do not have as much financial security as men because they often do not have high paying jobs (Brodie, 1991: 46).
During the interviews conducted for this study, many of the participants made similar arguments. For example,
Eileen OrConnell explains that during her recent campaign for the Fairview riding in Halifax, clothing expenses were a problem ( OrConnell, interview, 1996). O'Connel1 argues that clothing can create unique problems for women which are not experienced by male candidates. She argues that more attention is paid to a female contestantls physical appearance than her actual stance on public policy issues
(OIConnell,interview, 1996) . Finally, she notes that because of this problem she had to spend a large sum of money on clothing when she ran for the riding (O'Connell, interview, 1996).
Sungee Jon, a NAC executive and an active member of the Ontario NDP in Windsor, argues parties must acknowledge that child care costs often prevent women £rom
candidates. Jon states that "obviously funding is one improvement especially for working mothers who have family commitments, because they are the people, who un£ortunately, are left with the raising of the family" (Jon, interview, 1996) .
As we saw with Brodie's (1991) findings, the nomination process has been a financial obstacle for women, because their funding networks are often not as widespread as male candidates. On the other hand, female candidates may build strong support networks without having access to financial connections. For example, a Toronto women's group, the
Committee for '94, has openly pushed for gender parity in the House of Commons (Bashevkin, 1991) . However, as we saw earlier, this group has not yet achieved its goal of gender equity in the House. In any case, Sheila Copps, a Liberal
MP, also argues that a candidate does not necessarily require extensive connections with the local party elite, but can organize a large number of people at the grassroots level (Copps, 1986).
Nevertheless, Judy Rebick cautions that women candidates have had problems building support networks within the feminist movement. As we saw in the last chapter, women's participation in traditional political parties has not been a dominant concern for the feminist movement. Unfortunately, feminist groups in Canada have not concentrated enough on financially supporting women or merely encouraging female candidates to run for party politics (Rebick, interview, 1996) .
es a signrflcant. .. obstacle for women in election camnaiw?
In order to answer this question, this section will first examine the socio-economic background of successful and unsuccessful female candidates. It will then analyse how political parties have attempted to remedy this problem.
During recent interviews with women who ran for public office in 1988, Brodie (1991) demonstrates that three- quarters of female candidates were between 31 and 50 years of age (table 1.3, appendix 1). Approximately three- quarters were mothers, but 62 percent of the interviewed women indicted that their children were older than 15
(Brodie, 1991). A large percentage of women contestants were employed in female dominated positions. For example, about 29 percent were employed in the legal and business professions, while a large number were employed in the educational and social service fields (Brodie, 1991: 42).
Finally, a small percencage of women were previously 83 unemployed before the election (Brodie, 1991).
In contrast , table 1.3 (appendix 1) also depicts the backgrounds of successful female candidates. Brodie (1991) illustrates that a large number of female politicians fell into the 51- 60 age category. More importantly, a high percentage of female legislators worked in the business and administration fields. Finally, a significant number of elected women indicated that they are mothers. However, it is likely that their children were over 15 years of age
(Brodie, 1991).
The Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party
Financing does not provide a table comparing the demographic statistics of elected male and female MPs. This report also does not provide statistics on the differences between the socio-economic background of men and women in each of the parties. However, it does explain that fewer female politicians had children in comparison to their male counterpart (RCERPF, 1991). Furthemore, 95 percent O£ elected male MPs compared with 68 percent of female politicians were married (RCERPF, 1991: 105).
Despite these differences, male and female MPs were employed in similar fields. Approximately, 13 percent of elected women were lawyers while 15 percent of male
legislators came from the legal profession. Overall, both
elected men and women were primarily employed in the
business and legal fields (RCERPF, 1991). However, few male
legislators were working in the agricultural and fisheries
sectors. Finally, a small number of female politicians came
from the health care prof ession (RCERPF, 1991) .
These statistics demonstrate that female MPs have
sirnilar backgrounds as male politicians. No doubt, because
elected women and men were employed in high paid employment,
they had less difficulty building strong financial networks.
Owing to this factor, it is likely that both elected men and women £rom this socio-economic category also had enough
financial stability where they could take time off work
(CACSW cited in RCERPF, 1991: 111). However, more women than men were not married, or did not have children. Not surprisingly, this dernonstrates that many wornen have to make a choice between a career in Parliament or having a family.
Clearly these statistics indicate that the financial stability of a person is a key factor which has an impact on whether they will participate in politics.
There are also similarities between successful and 85 unsuccessful female candidates. A significant number of female contestants indicated that they are mothers but their children were over 15 years of age. It is clear, then, that women with young families are hindered £rom even participating in politics because of child care costs and family responsibilities. Indeed, Francine Cosman, a N.S.
Liberal MLA, argues that it is difficult for young mothers to become politically active, because of their role as the primary care giver (Cosman, interview, 1996) -
Because of these problems, political parties have taken measures toward improving the financial barriers that women experience when they run for public office. As we saw in the previous chapter, women's organizations inside of political parties have played an instrumental role in remedying this problem. Al1 three traditional parties offer funding for women candidates once they have won the nomination. The Conservatives', Ellen Fairclough Fund, and the Liberals', Judy LaMarsh Fund, have been designed to help women finance their campaign. Both funds also help women learn political skills which will help them successfully enter public office (CACSW, 1988).
The NDP's Agnes McPhail Fund donates money to each riding but not to the individual candidate. Each riding
with a female candidate receives $500 and women also
receive funding for child care costs. Moreover, like the
other funds, NDP women can learn invaluable skills for a
successful campaign (CACSW, 1988 ) .
These funds illustrate that political parties are aware
that finances can be an obstacle for women candidates and
they have also taken steps toward improving the problem.
However, there are weaknesses with these policies,
especially since these funds only benefit women once they
have won the nomination.
As we saw earlier, al1 parties are subject to laws
which already regulate their expenses during elections, but
intra-party campaigns such as nominations are not regulated by law. Nominations often screen out talented women because they can be quite expensive. Obviously, then,
funding should be provided before women win the nomination.
For example, the British Labour Party has developed EMILY's
Fund (Early Money is Like Yeast) which helps women during
the initial phases of their pursuit for public office
(Dysart et al, 1996: 19). In 1987, the Ontario Progressive
Conservative party also developed a programme which financially aids women at the nomination level. Under the
1987 Wornen in Nomination (WIN) program, any PC female
candidate can apply for funding to help pay for their
nomination expenses (Bashevkin, 1993 : 107) .
Kathy Reynolds, a researcher on wornen's politics at
the Inter-parliamentary Union, explains that this could
solve some of the handicaps women candidates experience.
She explains that ' the principle that we have (is) where you get money up front where it really counts ...rather than getting money a little further a long once you've already proved yourself " (Reynolds, interview, 1996). Likewise,
Mary Clancy explains that this problem would also be remedied if we had regulations on nominations expenses
(Clancy, interview, 1996) .
Party Idedo- and the ~arties,remonses to women's
This chapter has explained that Canada's single member constituency system and the lack of nomination expense rules are factors which help to explain why there are fewer wornen in the Canadian House of Commons than might otherwise be the 88 case. This section will now look at the efforts each party
has made to recruit more women into elected office.
Arguments will now be made that there are differences between the efforts each parties have made in this area, and
ideology may explain these differences.
William Christian and Colin Campbell (1989) provide a clear definition of the ideological differences between the
Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP. They also argue that al1 parties are influenced by liberalism to a certain degree .
As we saw in the theoretical chapter, al1 parties support the argument that al1 individuals are rational and should have the liberty to pursue their own ends (Christian and
Campbell, 1989) .
Nevertheless, they argue that each party also presents different ideological viewpoints. Furthemore, there are various ideological perspectives contained inside of each party. They explain that the formative structures of the
Liberal party is built upon the belief that al1 individuals are free and rational. Laissez-faire or business liberals argue that the state should be restricted from infringing upon citizen's property rights and their liberty (Christian and Campbell, 1989). Christian and Campbell (1989) note that welfare
liberalisrn has also help shape the partyls ideological
perspective. Unlike business liberals, welfare liberals
argue that certain economic rights should be restricted "in
order to give content and reality to the otherwise empty
'freedom' of the poor and disadvantaged" (Christian and
Campbell, 1989: 48). Welfare liberals argue that the state
must intervene to a certain degree because al1 citizen's
should enjoy individual freedom. The Liberal's policy hand
book for the 1993 election portrays both business and
welfare liberalism. For example, they appealed to business
liberals by promoting policies which would encourage £oreign
investment. They also supported welfare liberalism by
including a national day care program (Liberal Party, 1993).
The Progressive Consewatives are somewhat different
£rom the Liberals. Like the Liberals the PC party does
contain business liberals. However, the Tories are also
influenced by the conservative philosophy. Unlike business
liberals, consewatives promote the collective rights of
society and social order (Christian and Campbell, 1989). In other words, Tories argue that the state should ,to an extent, ensure that the collective rights of al1 individuals 90 are protected. Nonetheless, government power should be
limited because too much state intervention can lead to
social disorder (Christian and Campbell, 1989; Perlin,
1991) .
Unlike the Liberals and Conservatives, socialism helped
shape the original structures of the NDP. This ideology
promotes collective rights and social equality for al1
groups. Because capitalism hinders the economic rights of
social groups such as the working class, socialists argue
that the state must intewene in order to ensure the
equality of social groups. Like the Liberals and
Conservatives the NDP also contains welfare liberal groups.
Unlike the other parties, welfare liberalism is much
stronger in the NDP (Christian and Campbell, 1989). Because
the NDP is influenced by socialism and welfare liberalism,
it promotes the importance of representing social groups
such as women at the electoral level (Bashevkin, 1991).
Party ideology is evident in terms of each of the partiesr policies concerning women. The NDP is regarded as more sensitive toward this issue because their goal is that
50 percent of the NDP candidates are women. Because the NDP is committed to social equality, Bashevkin (1993) explains 91
that in 1991 the party developed an affirmative action
policy. ' The general consensus reached ...was that ...
affirmative action was rnandatory; (and) the process would be
taken irnmediately (Bashevkin, 1993 : 101) . Under this policy, 50 percent of al1 riding districts would have a
female candidate, and 60 percent of wimable ridings, not held by an NDP incumbent, would nominate a wornan (Bashevkin, 1993). Clearly these affirmative. action policies reflects the parties socialist-egalitarian ideology.
The Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals do not have any quotas on the recruitment of women as candidates
(Inter-ParliamentaryUnion, 1991: 103). Not surprisingly, their stance on this issue fits in with the cornpetitive individualisrn of each party. Unlike the NDP, in 1990, NWLC members opposed affirmative action policies concerning women's recruitment into political parties (Bashevkin,
1993) . Instead \\ Liberal constitutional provisions reflected an emphasis on voluntary, informal efforts 'to correct any imbalance in the representation of women and men'" (Bashevkin, 1993: LOO). Finally, the PC constitution does not contain any policies regarding the political representation of women at the legislative level (Bashevkin, Nonetheless, this does not mean that these two parties
have not responded to the issue of gender equity. As table
1.4 (appendix 1) demonstrates, both parties have gradually
run more women during the last elections. However, more male than female candidates participated in al1 of these elections (Sharpe, 1994) .
Even before the 1991 affirmative action policy, the NDP recruited significantly more female candidates than the other parties. Table 1.4 (appendix 1) also illustrates that the NDP even nominated more fernale than male candidates during the 1993 federal election (Sharpe, 1994).
1Hww h
A closer analysis of this issue (table 1.4, appendix 1) reveals that the NDP has not been successful at achieving its goal of gender parity. Even though more women carried the NDP banner than the other parties in each election, they 93
generally elected the fewest number of women. Elected NDP
men also won more seats than M3P women. However, the Tories
were the least successful in 1993, because they only elected
one woman and one man. In any case, table 1.4 (appendix 1)
also illustrates that the NDP has had problems even winning
seats (Sharpe, 1994) .
Ironically, Liberal and Conservative women have been
more successful (table 1.4, appendix 1). During elections
when one or the other party becarne the governrnent, women
running for the successful party registered higher gains-
For example, in 1980 and 1993 when the Liberals won power,
Liberal women won more seats than PC female candidates.
Likewise, when the Tories became the governing party in 1984
and 1988, Conservative women won more seats than their
counterpart in the Liberal party. Similar to the NDP,
Liberal men, in every case, won more seats than Liberal women. The Tories have followed a similar pattern except
during the disastrous 1993 election when they only elected
one man and one woman (Sharpe, 1994).
Why have more men than women been elected by each of
the political parties? It is important to note that the
electorate does not hold a bias against female candidates. Indeed, " the Canadian electoral system ...places greater emphasis on the candidate's party affiliation than on the candidates themselves" (Young, 1991: 88). Furthermore,
Sharpe (1994) also notes that the key problem is not the electorate but the capacity of each party to actively recruit more women into public office. This fact is also clearly show in table 1.4 (appendix 1) (Sharpe,1994). It is also noteworthy that a 1992 Insight Canada Research poll found that voter's were more likely to vote for a female candidate than their male counterpart. It indicated that a female candidate had a 2 percent better chance than a man of winning a given seat in an election (Sharpe, 1994: 176) .
Political scientists have made various arguments concerning the obstacles that women face at the constituency level. For example, Brodie (1991) argues that there has been a trend where women are nominated for seats where their chances of gaining access into the House are not high. She also argues that women are generally not run in seats where the majority of the local electorate supports the party
(Brodie, 1985) . Furthemore, she explains that many women have won seats in lost-cause ridings when public opinions shifted and the party became popular (Brodie, 1991). During 95 a recent interview, Liberal MP Mary Clancy argued that she benefitted from this phenomenon. In the words of Clancy: ' 1 was norninated when we were low in the polls so 1 didnft have a whole lot of opposition, but the tide turned in that election campaign and 1 wonf1 (Clancy, interview, 1996).
Donley Studlar and Richard Matland (1994) do not support this argument. After carefully analysing the 1984 and 1988 federal election results, they conclude that parties do not simply recruit more women than men into lost- cause ridings. They argue that Canada has a tradition where there are a high number of uncontested nominations in many ridings. Nevertheless, even though many incumbents do not seek re-election, when they do, they are nearly always re- nominated by the local riding (Studlar & Matland, 1994) .
Despite this factor, Studlar and Matland (1994) argue that there is little evidence that parties consciously recruit women into lost-cause ridings especially when most constituencies are uncompetitive.
Why have men been more successful than women candidates at achieving electoral office? It would be too simplistic to argue that parties recruit women into lost-cause ridings because of sexism. Studlar and Matland's (1994) assessment 96
sheds more light on this problern than Brodiers (1991) study.
Linda Erickson (1991) also agrees that there is a low level
of incumbency in Canada's single member constituency system.
She also argues that parties such as the Liberals and
Consenatives should have more search cornmittees which can
help recruit more women into legislative office (Erickson,
1991).
Regardless of this factor, there have been cases where women have been hindered from participating when some local ridings have become competitive. Because of this problem,
Liberal leader Jean Chretien directly appointed nine female candidates during the 1993 election. Maria Minna, a woman who was appointed by Chretien, has even argued that if he had not pursued this strategy, there would not have been a single woman elected from the Toronto area (Minna, interview, 1996) .
Arguments can be made, therefore, that lack of affirmative action policies in the Liberal and Consenrative parties, and the limited number of NDP seats, help to explain why women are underrepresented in the House. In spite of these problems, the financial obstacles discussed in the previous section shed more light on why women have 97 been disadvantaged from participating in electoral politics.
Fow the Pronort- 1 ouRepresentation Svstem Functjons 3
Norwav and Sweden
30th Norway and Sweden use the simple list proportional representation system. In these countries each local constituency nominates candidates to a party list (Elder,
1983 1 . Unlike Canada, Norway has 19 multi-membered districts which each nominate 4 to 15 candidates (Olson,
1983). Sweden has 28 multi-member constituencies which each nominate 2 or more candidates (Stjernquist, 1987) . The number of names on a ballot is then determined by the number of seats in a constituency. Political parties order the list by placing the preferential candidates at the top and the less preferred members near the bottom of the list. The top portion of PR lists are like safe seat ridings in
Canada. Contestants placed in the middle of the list have a reasonable chance of being elected if their party wins more seats in a given district. The names at the bottom of the list are ,in turn, similar to the lost-cause constituencies in single-member systems (Skard and Haavio- Mannila, 1985; 98
Young, 1994) .
Instead of casting a ballot for only one candidate the electorate from each local riding district votes for two or more candidates. Following the vote, each party is designated a percentage of the seats that corresponds with their percentage of the popular vote. Under this system, the electorate votes for the party and not a candidate on the list. Although the electorate can move certain candidates to a more favourable position on the list, voters generally do not function in this manner (Skard and Haavio-
Mamila, 1985: 55; Valen, 1988). There are no clear-cut answers on why voters do not function in this manner in
Sweden. Nevertheless, Valen (1988) provides evidence for why this may be the case in Norway. During a 1985 survey on whether or not voters really know the candidates, it
"revealed that ... a third of the respondents were unable to name a single candidate, while only 39 percent could identify three or more" (Valen, 1988: 219). Not surprisingly, then, the party is more important than individual contestants (Young, 1994).
Some analysts argue that this system is fairer than the electoral process in Canada. Voters in single-member 99 constituencies who supported a losing contestant do not have an impact on the electoral outcome. In contrast, ail votes in PR systems can make a difference because they strengthen a party's chances winning seats (Young, 1994).
Proportional Representation can also ensure that diverse groups in a society are represented. Because a party can win more than one seat in a constituency, their lists can be comprised of representatives of various social groups if party ideology supports this goal and leaders implement a policy of encouraging diversity. Ticket- balancing occurs when a local constituency nominates candidates from different social groups, in order to demonstrate that they are concerned with social diversity
(Young, 1994; Valen, 1988).
It is important to note that parties in Norway and
Sweden have followed this strategy. The political culture of ~candinaviansocieties have respected social diversity.
Because the cornmon values and attitudes of these societies promote the representation of various groups such as women, parties ensure that they are fairly placed on electoral lists (Young, 1994). Skard and Haavio-Mannila (1985) have also made similar arguments. They argue that Norway and Sweden have "accepted the demands for democracy, justice
and equality (on a much stronger level) than in other
Western nationsw (Skard and Haavio-Mannila, 1985: 80).
Political scientists in Norway and Sweden have
dernonstrated that their party system functions in this
marner. In Norway and Sweden, the local party decides the
ranking of candidates on the list instead of the national
party (Valen, 1988; Stjernquist, 1987). Even though the
nomination process in Norway is highly decentralized, many
local parties have practised ticket-balancing. As a result ,
certain social groups have more political clout in Norway
than they do in Canada because of the PR system. Valen
(1988) argues that groups such as territorial organizations, women and youth have been represented on electoral lists.
This strategy is important because connections with the
local community can help ensure political victory for the party. Finally, Valen (1988) argues that if these groups are not properly represented on the ballot, it could create conflict within the local organization.
Swedish parties also practice ticket-balancing. Like
Norway, a candidate's place on a list is essential for political achievement. Skard and Haavio-Mannila (1985) 101 explain that Sweden has used this practice to ensure that
women are fairly represented on the list. They argue that
although this practice has not been legislated, " several
parties in ...Sweden have in practice begun to move towards
this type of arrangement when nominations are made" (Skard
and Haavio- Mannila, 1985: 56).
Parties do not only select candidates because of their
membership in a social group; political experience is also
important. Car1 Salicath, a Norwegian diplomat, has pointed
out that, as in Canada, candidates in Scandinavian systems
are also chosen for top positions if they have experience
and have maintained party loyalty ( Salicath, interview,
1996). In Salicath's words, ' loyalty and work in the party
is what can get you elected because you are running as a representative of your party" (Salicath, interview, 1996) .
Sirkka Sinkkonen (19851, a Finnish political scientist, explains that local politics have been an important training ground for women who have pursued public office at the national level (p.82).
As we have seen, PR clearly differs from Canada's electoral system. Because more than one person can be nominated and win a seat in a constituency, it is much easier to represent various social groups. Not surprisingly, Norway and Sweden's use of PR is one of the many factors explaining the higher number of women in
Parliament. Future sections will analyse in greater detail how political parties ensure that women are represented on the ballot.
One should not assume that women can become elected solely because of their gender. Like the Canadian system, candidates are chosen for a nomination because of their experience in politics. In other words, because they represent the party, winning candidates must be knowledgeable and uphold the principles of the organization.
Are Partv Finance Tiaws fairer in Sweden and Norwav?
Unlike the Canadian system, Norwegian and Swedish nominations are not expensive and are not an obstacle for women. Inter-Parliamentary Union researcher, Kathy Reynolds argues that ' the nomination process is through PR, (and) provided you can get on the top part of the list, you can get elected" ( Reynolds, interview, 1996) . Salicath also notes that " there are no financial problems with running 103 for office in (Scandinavian countries) simply because it is the party that runs for office and those (who are on the list are representatives of the party" (Salicath, interview, 1996) .
Norwegian and Swedish political scientists also note that candidates are not nominated into top positions simply because of their ability to outspend their opponents. Valen
(1988) explains that Norwegian elections are state funded and candidates do not require extensive connections with business and individuals. Gudren Klee (19931, an expert on
Swedish party finances, explains that unfair spending by individual candidates in Sweden is not a problem. To put it simply, 'political parties have built up strong organizations (at al1 levels) ...and public subsidies are given to permanent party organizations ...and not to specific candidates" (Klee, 1993 : 178) .
Unlike Canadian political parties which raises a large portion of their money from individuals and corporations, Sweden's parties depend on local and national state subsidies. However, the portion each party receives depends on their percentage of the popular vote during an election (Sarlvik, 1974). A party must also win at least 1 104
percent of the vote for full state funding (Klee, 1993:
178). Unlike Canada, Swedish parties do not depend on
donations from businesses and interests groups because their
elections are publicly funded (Klee, 1993 .
Wieslander and Rangnitt (1979) explain that Norway's
political finance laws do not differ substantially £rom
Swedenrs policies. Like Sweden, Norway publicly funds
political parties and not individual candidates. Norway
also differs from Canada because parties are state supported
and do not depend on corporate or interest group funding.
Like Sweden, the public funds that Norwegian parties receive
is based on their share of the popular vote. Like Canada,
Norway also determines each party's free broadcast time by
their percentage of seats in Parliament (Wieslander and
Rangnitt, 1979) .
Norway and Sweden's party finance laws provide further
evidence for why women candidates do not experience
obstacles because of expenses. As we saw in the Canadian
case, women are often excluded from competitive ridings because they can become extremely expensive. In Norway and
Sweden, it is the party who receives funding and not
individual candidates. 105
Similar to Canada, some women are hindered from running
for electoral office in Norway and Sweden. For example,
Skard and Haavio-Mannila (1985) note that women rnay be prevented from participating in legislative politics because of child care responsibilities (p.50) . Nevertheless , Norway and Swedenls fair party finance laws do encourage more women to run for public office than their counterparts in Canada.
Norwegian and Swedish women have not made greater gains than Canadian women in professional and business life. Like
Canada, there is a high percentage of women in fernale dominated jobs which may not pay as much as business or legal positions. For example, 41 percent of Swedish women are concentrated in £emale dominated sectors (Sweden,
1995:58). This is also been the case in Norway. Van der ros (1994) explains that 'as many as 85 percent of gainfully employed (Norwegian) women work in totally or heavily segregated occupationsM (p.537). However, because Norwegian and Swedish candidates do not require extensive persona1 finances and do not require donations from individuals and business, they experience less barriers than Canadian women.
Arguments can ,therefore, be made that it is not a fernale candidate's ability to outspend her opponents that 106 guarantees her a seat, but rather her loyalty and popularity within the local party which ensures her a top position on the list.
Both Norway, Sweden, and Canada have political finance laws which regulate their expenses. Unlike Norway and
Sweden, Canadian candidates and the parties depend on funding from individuals and corporations. As we saw in
Norway and Sweden, parties are state funded and do not rely on private donations. Al1 of these factors combined, reveals why a female candidate's connections with extensive moneyed networks is not a factor in Norway and Sweden.
Party Ideolocrv- and thelr Re~onsestoward increasina Women's
Particination
Our discussion of party ideology in Canada demonstrated that the NDP, a left-wing party, was the only organization with a goal of increasing the nurnbex of women candidates to
50 percent. Party ideology is also a factor in Norway and
Sweden. This section will first study the nature of Swedish political parties.
Like the NDP, the Social Democrats are influenced by 107 socialism. They argue that a laissez-faire market system
oppresses the'freedom of the working-class and other groups.
Social Democrats also argue that economic resources should
be the property of the entire community (Sweden, 1995) .
Finally, the Social Democratic party accepts the present
parliamentary system but argues that they must "muster the
strength to vote socialism into existence" (Esping-Anderson,
1985: 7) .
The Left Party and the Greens have also placed
themselves on the left of Sweden's political spectrum.
Unlike the Social Democrats, the Left Party has a more
radical vision of how a socialist society can be achieved.
They argue that socialists, communists, and other groups
such as women should work together in their struggle for a
classless society (Sweden, 1995) . The Green Party's '' basic
vision is of a society in ecological balance with naturefr
(Sweden, 1995: 3) . Like the other left-wing parties, they
argue that al1 citizens should actively participate in the
administration of the state (Sweden, 1995).
Finally, the Liberal Party is closer to the centre of
Sweden's political spectrum. The Liberal Party promotes welfare liberalism. They argue that a laissez-faire economy 108
can lead to a two-tiered society and exploitation of the
environment. Liberals argue that the state must ensure that
the economic rights of cornpanies and individuals are
protected (Sweden, 1995 ; Esping-Anderson, 1985) .
The Moderates, Centre Party, and Christian D~Moc~~~s,
have placed themselves on the right of the political
spectrum. Even though the Moderates are supportive of
social programs, they promote a free-market, because it
ensures individual freedom. Unlike the other parties, the
Centre Party is more supportive of a laissez-faire market
and the freedom of individuals £rom the state. Finally, the
Christian Democratic Party promotes the traditional family
and is against abortion (Sweden, 1995) .
Jan Sundberg (1995), a Fimish political scientist, notes that party ideology has influenced Swedish left-wing parties' policies on womenrs political participation. She explains that during the Feminist movement in the 1970fs,
socialist parties realized that women should play an active role in party politics. Left-wing votews also support an
increase in womenrs political representation. The Social
Democrats, the Left Party, and the Greens al1 have a 50 percent quota endorsing women candidates. However, the 109 Liberal Party, which situated itself in the centre, has guaranteed that it will increase the percentage of women by a maximum of 40 percent (Sundburg, 1995; Inter-parliamentary
Union, 1991).
Sundburg (19951 notes that Sweden' s right -wing paxties do not have gender quotas. Like the Progressive
Consematives and the Liberals in Canada, the Moderates,
Centre and Christian Democrats believe that women should not receive special treatment. For example, the Christian
Democrats have noted that they ' as well as the Federation of Conservative women are against al1 forms of quota systems" (Inter-parliamentary Union, 1991 : 111) .
In Norway's most parties, except for the right-wing
Progress Party, ensure that 40 percent of their candidates will be women. Nonetheless, party ideology is also a factor in Norway, because the Socialist Left party and Labour, who are left-wing and supportive of group representation, implemented gender quotas first. Like Swedish and Canadian left-wing parties, they responded to many voter's growing concern with gender equity (Sunàberg, 1995; Inter-
Parliamentary Union, 1991) .
Why have most of Norway's parties followed the 110 Socialist Left and Labour? There are no clear-cut answers to this question. However, Kaare Strom and Jorn Leipart (1989) explain that although Labour and the Left Party profess the strongest supporters of the welfare-state, the
Conservatives, Christian People's Party, Centre Party, and
Liberals are also advocates of the welfare-state liberalisrn
(Strom and Leipart, 1989: 271). However, they do not explain why most of Norway's parties have gender quotas.
Nevertheless, arguments can be made that perhaps the support of most of Norway's parties for the welfare-state could explain why they have quotas on increasing the number of female candidates. As we have seen, welfare-liberals advocate that the state should work toward removing the barriers which prevent people from exercising their freedom
(Bal1 and Dagger, 1991) . Given this perspective, it is logical, then, that these parties would seek to remove the barriers which prevent women £rom exercising their right to run for public office.
Matland (1995) also explains that group representation has been an important issue for most of Norway's parties and the electorate. The right-wing Progress Party, in contrast,
has remained adamant in refusing to consider active promotion ( they would cal1 it favouritism) of women"
(Matland, 1995: 286) .
How wel l ha ve women leaislaors- fared over- time in each golrtlcal. . Dartv in Norwav and Sweden?
As we saw in the Canadian case a party's electoral popularity can have an impact on the number of elected female candidates. Before studying this question, it is important to look at how Sweden differs £rom Norway. Even though Sweden is more socialist than Canada, socialism has become less influential. Between 1932 and 1976, the Swedish
Parliament was dominated by the Social Democrats. Aowever, between 1976 until 1994, there have been periods where non- socialists held coalition governments (Sweden, 1995).
Recently, the Social Democrats regained power. Table 1.5 appendix 1) demonstrates that during the 1994 election,
Social Democrats won 45.5 percent of the Parliamentary seats, and the Moderates now hold 22.4 percent of the House.
The other parties ,in contrast, each hold below 10 percent of the legislative seats (Sweden, 1995).
Nytt Fra Norge (1995), a researcher Erom Norway's 112
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explains that aside £rom the
Conservative governments in 1981 and 1986, the Labour Party has held governing power. Table 1.5 (appendix 1) also illustrates that during the 1993 election, Labour won 40.6 percent of the seats while only 17 percent of the
Conservatives and 19.4 percent of the Centre Party were elected into the Storting. The other parties, in contrast, did not £are well in the election (Norge, 1995) . Given these numbers, it is important to assess how this has had an impact on women's political representation in Sweden and
Norway .
Women have been fairly represented in al1 of Sweden's parties even though the gender quotas are only used by the left . Table 1.6 (appendix 1) reveals that the Liberal
Party, a party with quota policies, elected significantly more men than women. Even though the Social Democrats elected a large nurnber of women, men received higher levels of representation. Furthermore, the Left Party and the
Greens also elected more men than women. Although right- wing parties elected more men than women, women also fared well in each of these parties (Sweden, 1995) .
These are important statistics, because they indicate that perhaps party ideology may not be the only factor influencing womenfs recruitment into the Swedish Riksdag.
In 1991, the Social Democrats lost power, and the non- socialist parties formed a coalition government. Because of this factor, the Social Democrats elected fewer women during this election. Furthemore, both the Liberals, the Left
Party and the Greens only won a small number of seats. No doubt, then, the electoral success of a party can have an impact on the number of elected women (Sweden, 1995) .
During the 1994 election, wornenf s representat ion increased. The Social Democrat Party elected more women than in did in 1991, but they were still outnumbered by men.
Table 1.6 (appendix 1) also illustrates that, to a certain extent, the Left Party and the Greens also elected more men than women. Finally, this pattern is also evident in the
Liberal Party's electoral results. As in the preceding election, both parties only won a few seats and only elected a small number of women. Like the previous election, women won fewer seats than men in each right-wing party, but still received high levels of representation (Sweden, 1995).
Once again, party ideology was not the only factor which explains why more men than women were elected into the 114
Riksdag. As we saw earlier, a party's electoral success can also influence the number of elected women. In 1994, the
Social Democrats regained power, and this helps explain why wornen won more seats. Furthermore, the Liberals, the Left
Party and the Greens did not win many seats and, therefore, did not elect a large number of women. Finally, even though the Moderates and the Centre Party do not have quotas, they won more seats than the Liberals and Left Party and elected a higher number of women (Sweden, 1995) .
Norwegian women have also made irnpressive gains. Table
1.7 (appendix 1) demonstrates that wornen won a high number of seats in the Socialist Left and Labour parties in 1985.
Nonetheless, it is also evident that the Socialist Left elected a higher percentage of women than Labour. In any case, the Centre Party, who have a right-wing appeal elected
17 percent women, and 25 percent of the Christian Democrat's share of the legislature were held by women (Valen, 1988).
Finally, women in the Conservative party received an even greater number of seats than their countesparts in the other socialist parties (Valen, 1988).
During the 1989 election, these numbers irnproved.
Labour elected more women than the Socialist Left. Labour 115 also regained governing status and this explains why they elected more women. Furthemore, Table 1.7 (appendix 1) also indicates that parties of the right elected a slightly lower number of women (Valen, 1988 ; Bystydzienski, 1995; Skjeie,
1993) .
Like Sweden, and to a lesser extent Canada, more
Norwegian women entered public office in 1993. Once again
Labour, held ont0 governing status, and recruited more women than the Socialist Left. Nevertheless, Table 1.7 also reveals that the right-wing parties also elected impressive nurnbers of wornen (Valen, 1988; Bystydzienski, 1995; Skjeie,
1993) .
Similar to Sweden, party ideology may not fully explain womenrs representation into each of Norway's political parties. As we saw in the Swedish case, there are differences between the number of elected women in governing and opposition parties. For example, Labour elected fewer women in 1985 when it did not hold power, but when it regained power in 1989 and 1993 the number of women increased (Norge, 1995; Valen, 1988; Bystydzienski, 1995;
Skjeie, 1993).
The placement of female candidates on party lists also 116 explains why the number of elected women has not always been
consistent in Norwegian and Swedish parties. As we saw,
female contestants were fairly well represented in al1 of
Swedenrs parties. Nonetheless, when a Swedish party did
not win a high number of seats, they elected fewer women.
Likewise, this has also been a factor when the Social
Democrats were out of power in Sweden.
Arguments can be made that there has been a tendency
where female candidates have often been placed below the
electable nurnber of positions on the list. Nils Stjernquist
(1987), a Swedish political scientist, sheds further light on this question. He explains that there has been a trend where various local constituencies have placed women slightly below the electable names on party ballots
(Stjernquist, 1987: 300). PR systems do not have by- elections when an MP resigns from Parliament, but merely appoints candidates who were under the electable number of names into public office. Because there has been a pattern where women have been recruited in this manner, the actual number of female MPs have increased even when there was no
election. For example, " the number of female members in
1982-83 session (94) rose to 99 (28 percent) by the 1984-85 117 session despite the fact that no election was held in the
intervening period" (Stjernquist, 1987: 300).
Matland (1995) argues that this has been a factor in
Norway. Like Sweden, female MPs are well represented in the
Norwegian Storting. Nevertheless, there has been a pattern where male candidates have been placed in top positions on the list more often than their female counterparts. Table
1.7 (appendix 1) reveals that the number of elected women in each of the parties has not been consistent over time.
When a party has a higher number of possible electable seats, they have placed more women into favourable places on the list. Through careful analysis of Norwegian electoral lists £rom each party, Matland (1995) found that '' district parties set up the list of ... candidat es,...^^ that the positions alternate between (male and female candidates) but the list (nearly) always start with a man" (p.298) . Because of this pattern, he argues that when a party only wins one seat it is usually a man, but when they win two seats, the delegation is balanced between male and female candidates
(Matland, 1995: 228) .
Other studies have made similar arguments. Valen
(1988) notes that generally female candidates are placed 118 high on the list, but when a party bas a slight chance of
winning a seat in a particular district, female candidates
are not placed in top positions. Skard and Haavio-Mannila
(1985) note that in 1981, 28 percent of the candidates in
mandate or top positions were women, 26 percent of those in
positions below the top candidates were women, and 39
percent of candidates at the bottom of the list were women
(p.57).
This section has demonstrated that party ideology is a
factor in Norway and Sweden. Despite these similarities,
there are differences between the two systems. For example,
Sweden's socialist parties have quotas while the non-
socialist parties do not agree with these policies. Ln contrast, most of Norway's parties have irnplemented affirmative action policies on the recruitment of women.
Nevertheless, our cornparison of women's recruitment
into the Swedish Parliament has raised several questions.
On the whole, women were fairly well represented in each of
Sweden's parties even though only socialist parties had quotas. Why has this been the case? Arguments can be made that because these parties can nominate more than one candidate into each local constituency, it is rnuch easier for female candidates to enter public office. Swedish
elections and nominations are not expensive and women are
not hindered from participating because of finances. Our
earlier discussion also indicated that women often work
their way up through the ranks, and they may have been
recruited because of knowledge and experience. However, we
also saw that the nurnber of elected women into certain
political parties was not always consistent. Arguments were made that male MPs have been placed in higher positions on
the list more often than women.
The use of gender quotas in most of Norway's parties also raises several questions. As we saw, women have also been fairly well represented in each of Norway's parties, and clearly female candidates must have been recruited into favourable positions on the list. Nonetheless, like Sweden, there has also been a discrepancy between the elected nurnber of women when a party is in opposition or holds governing status. For example, Labour elected fewer women when it was out of office than it did when it regained power in 1989 and
1993. Arguments were made that while women are placed in favourable positions on the list, male candidates have been placed in top positions more often than women. This may 12 0 explain why there is a lack of consistency between the
number O£ elected wornen in each of the parties over time.
Concludim Remarks
This chapter has suggested several reasons why more women have entered public office in Norway and Sweden than
in Canada. Arguments have also been made that this is a structural problem. In order to demonstrate this point, the chapter first studied Canada's electoral system. Canada's electoral system does not allow for social diversity, because only one candidate can win a nomination or an electoral seat. Norway and Sweden's use of PR, in contrast, can better reflect society's diversity because two or more candidates are elected £rom party lists.
Women in Canada are also hindered £rom entering public office, because of finances. As we saw, the lack of finance rules at the nomination level often prevents women £rom even participating in politics. Even though Canada does have party finance rules at the electoral level, Our analysis of each party's rules argued that they are largely dependent on funds £rom corporations and individuals. This has been an 121 obstacle for women who often do not have as widespread
moneyed networks as their male counterparts. Party finance
rules also provide further evidence for why more female
candidates have been recruited into Norway and Sweden's political parties. Our discussion indicated that nomination
expenses are not a barrier for women, because the state
finances the campaigns of political parties. Because both
countries have state financed elections, candidates and parties are not reliant on interest groups or corporations.
This also sheds valuable light on why a women candidate's connections with financial networks is not an issue in
Norway and Sweden.
The analysis of party ideology in Canada indicated that it does explain why a party may or may not decide to implement quotas on recruiting more women into politics.
Moreover, the NDP was the only party who had a goal on obtaining more female candidates. In any case, the
Liberals and Conservatives do not use quotas because quotas do not fit with their individualistic philosophy. Despite this difference, the NDP has elected the least number of women even though it has quotas because it has elected less
MPs overall. 12 2 Like Canada, party ideology has also been a factor in
Norway and Sweden. However, there are important differences
between the two states. Only Sweden's left-wing parties
have quotas, but al1 of Norway's parties have them. Even
though Norwegian and Swedish female candidates have been
placed in favourable positions on party lists, there have
been inconsistencies between the number of elected wornen in
each of the parties over time. Arguments were made that male candidates are placed in high positions on the list more often than their Eemale counterpart especially when the party has a slight chance of winning a seat in a particular district. Nonetheless, al1 political parties in these states have made impressive inroads toward gender equity, because more than one candidate can be nominated on electoral lists and the use of gender quotas.
Owing to these factors, Canada can learn much £rom
Scandinavian states in terms of recruiting more women into public office. By looking at the electoral success of
Swedish and Norwegian women, obviously the underrepresentation of women in Parliament in Canada results in part £rom the electoral system and party finances. Ln essence, only when Canada truly studies why female 123 candidates experience structural impediments today will al1 women and men share equally in the benefits of Canadian democracy tomorrow. ter 5 - Can Women le-1 ators Promote Women' s Concens
Female legislators have enjoyed high levels of representation in the Swedish and Norwegian Parliaments.
The previous chapter explained why Scandinavian countries have more women Members of Parliament than Canada, but many questions remain. This chapter will consider the impact women legislators have on the decision-making process once they enter Parliament. Do they promote women's interests once they are elected?
This chapter will focus on this question. First it will consider why many feminist academics have argued that a cxitical mass of women legislators is necessary for a strong voice on women's issues. This section will also briefly define wornen's interests and why it is important that these concerns be promoted by legislators. Following this analysis, the chapter will explore whether party discipline and ideology has hindered women in Canadian and Scandinavian parliamentary democracies from prornoting women's concerns.
It will also examine cross-party coalitions among women.
124 The chapter will then examine the impact of women Cabinet
postings have had on representing women's concerns.
Finaily, the chapter will consider women's issues in
relation to the dominant cleavages in Canadian and
Scandinavian party systems. Arguments will be made that
increase in women legislators may not by itself ensure that
there is a greater voice on women's issues. Other factors such as party discipline and ideology, cabinet postings and dominant cleavages may have an impact on generating discussion on womenfs concerns.
Ferninist academics have argued that once women comprise a certain proportion of a legislature, they will have an impact on the policy concerns of women. Dahlerup (1988) argues that once women make up 15% to 30% of the legislature they will begin to influence public policy (p.180). In
other words, \' the (need for a) 'critical massr implies that in politics a fundamental change may happen long before
(women) reach the 50 (or maybe 60) percent of the 126 seats" (Dahlerup, 1980 : 275) . Sharpe (1994) argues once women make up a certain percentage of the House ' there is a greater chance that they will change the substance and tone of the debate" (p.180) .
It is clear, then, that the common presumption is that if women legislators are going to make a difference, their numbers must reach a certain level. As we have seen the numbers of women legislators in Scandinavia has reached a critical mass. In the Canadian 1993 election, women's share of the House has also risen above 15 percent.
W hat are women 1.s =teresta ?
However, questions still remain. What are womenrs interests? Or, what are the public policy areas in which women legislators are supposed to make a difference? These are clearly difficult questions. Not surprisingly, women often do not agree with one another when defining women's concernç and interests. Women legislators may promote either nonfeminist or feminist perspectives on these issues.
For example, Deborah Grey, a representative of the Reform
Party, an organization that positions itself on the right, 127 questions whether or not there really are policy areas which mainly have an impact on women. She argues that typical women's concerns such as day care or violence against women should not be perceived as issues which are solely of concem to women (Grey, interview, 1996) . Grey stresses that many of her male colleagues are often afraid of being victims of Street violence (Grey, interview, 1996). She argues that, "these are not women's issues, but society and family issues" (Grey, interview, 1996) .
Eileen O'Connel1 a rnember of the NS NDP, in contrast, has an entirely different perception of wornen's interests. O'Connel1 argues that women legislators can provide a different perspective than their male counterparts on certain public policy issues. Unlike Grey,
O'Connel1 argues that a feminist analysis is necessary when looking at these issues. For example, women representatives can bring issues such as child rearing, or the increasing holes in the school system, directly into political debate
(O'Connell, interview, 1996).
Bystydzienski (1995) argues that there are public policy areas of particular interest to women where women legislators can have an impact on the decision-making 128 process. Women politicians can use a feminist analysis and emphasize that women have different experiences than men because of the gendered division of the workforce, family and social or political institutions (Bystydzienski, 1995:
53). Female legislators can also represent the concerns of nonfeminist women on these issues. Women legislators can
'' make special contributions in areas where their experiences and abilities derive from traditional roles such as family policies, education, and social welfare"
(Bystydzienski, 1995: 53) . Norton (1995), an American feminist academic, points to particular public policy examples when explaining women's interests. For instance, she explains that female legislators can influence
discussion on areas such as \\ national reproductive policy, abortion, family planning, pregnancy ...surrogacy, and parental leave (because they) closely touch the identities of al1 wornen" (Norton, 1995: 115) .
Female legislators can create public awareness by arguing that women's issues are closely linked with the broader concerns of society in general. For example, female
MPs can generate public debate on why economic policies such as government restructuring touch particularly on the lives 129 of many women. Wornen politicians can play an important role in representing the various perspectives women have on economic policies which cut social services in such areas as health care and education. There is also need for these interests to be represented, because many women are concerned with how financial policies have an impact on wornen's role in the workforce. In other words, economic policies which deal with cutting social services and other government jobs, particularly concern women because many women are employed in these positions or are reliant on these programmes (Brodie, 1994; Skjeie, 1991; Anderson,
1991).
Clearly the contrasting viewpoints between O'Connel1 and Grey reveal that female legislators and women in general do not always agree with one another on how these issues should be represented. Regardless of these differences, al1 of these issues touch specifically on the lives of al1 women. An increase in women legislators should, therefore, play an important role in promoting the various perspectives of women on these issues. In any case, many questions still remain. Have female legislators worked across party lines in support of these issues? Have women politicians generated discussion on women's concerns inside of their
party? What barriers do they face in attempting to promote
women's viewpoints?
Before discussing how women legislators function within party politics, it necessary to define party discipline.
Wearing (1988) explains that party discipline is important because it ensures that unity and team spirit are maintained within the party. Aucoin (1994) provides a more detailed definition on how party discipline functions. In al1 political parties, regardless of whether or not they are in power, party leaders seek ta ensure that caucus supports the party's overall values, principles, and policies (Aucoin,
1994). It is important that party unity be maintained because it affects electoral success (Aucoin, 1994). The party must speak in a single voice because " the effectiveness of a leader is now subject to even greater media (attention) and ..., therefore party scrutiny and evaluation" (Aucoin, 1994 : 103 ) .
For the governing party, the Prime Minister can help ensure party discipline by appointing loyal party members to
Cabinet posts. Legislators can suffer setbacks in their careers if they do not follow the party line (Aucoin, 1994:
104). However, Members of Parliament often willingly toe the party line because they want to maintain the power, stability and influence of their party and do not wish to face an election if the government is defeated (Aucoin,
1994). Furthermore, legislators also hope to receive positions of influence in the party.
Party discipline has both strengths and weaknesses.
Because members of each parliamentary party must promote their organization's values and principles, it helps ensure political stability. Furthermore, party discipline can encourage team work and unity amongst al1 party members.
However, party discipline also has its drawbacks. For instance, representatives who want to bring certain issues ont0 the table that differ from the partyts platform, may have difficulty having their voice heard. Legislators may even be discouraged £rom discussing concerns which are not part of the partyts agenda. As a result, many important interests may be left out of public debate.
During the interviews conducted for this study however, many female legislators in Canada did not have major problerns with party discipline. In the words of Mary
Clancy: ' 1 grew up in the Liberal party ...and 1 intellectually chose the Libewal party as the party that fits me; ...if 1 donlt like something 1 fight my battles in caucus and not in the Houseu (Clancy, interview, 1996) .
Another participant explained that party discipline is important for the governing party because it must ensure that it fulfills its mandate. She noted that party loyalty and team work are essential for the opposition party as well because it helps assure that it can hold the governing party accountable (Forsyth-Smith, interview, 1996). One woman legislator stressed that "it is important that you air your concerns in caucus, but when you walk into the legislature you walk in united. This is essential, because if you are not united you canriot govern" (Norrie, interview, 1996).
Another women legislator supported the argument that party discipline helps maintain unity and political stability (Cosman, interview, 1996). Like other women legislators, she emphasized that members must debate their 13 3
concerns within caucus and ' go into the legislature united
even if you hate your party's stance on a policy" (Cosman,
interview, 1996). Furthemore, " if you vote against your
own party, you can hinder your relationship with other party
members" (Cosman, interview, 1996). Nevertheless, she did
note that ' there ought to be a capacity within the parties
for members to dissent without causing embarrassment on non-
money issues or non-budget votes" (Cosman, interview, 1996).
Even though women legislators in the Canadian paxty
system support party discipline and the ideology of their
party, they have formed cross-party alliances. As we shall
see, there have been occasions where women from al1
political stripes have worked together in support of womenrs
interests. At the same time, women legislators have not
broken ranks in al1 areas in order to pursue the concerns of wornen. In other words, ' their efforts to pursue feminist
objectives are constrained by institutional structures
especially in the Westminister system of 'responsible' government" (Vickers, 1997: 31) .
Young (1997) provides a detailed analysis of the cross- party coalitions women legislators have formed in the
Canadian Parliament. She notes that these coalitions occurred between 1988 and 1993, and are the first
institutionalized alliances between fernale MPs in the
Canadian House of Commons (Young, 1997: 92). The first major
cross-party coalition between women legislators in the House
of Commons was the Association of Women Parliamentarians
(AWPI . The AWP has spoken out against the problem of sexism on Parliament Hill. Indeed, there are various examples of male chauvinism in the Canadian Parliament. For instance,
former Tory Minister John Crosbie's comments to Sheila
Copps, a Liberal MF, are an excellent case in point. In the words of Crosbie: 'just quieten(sic) down, baby. You bunch of poltroons can shout al1 you like. The Ratpack can quieten(sic) down. The titmice can quieten(sic) dom"
(Crosbie cited in Copps, 1986: 169). Another example of sexism occurred when Margaret Mitchell ,a federal NDP member, was laughed at by a group of male MPs after raising the details of wife-battering (Vickers, 1997: 31). Given this problem, the AWP has worked toward making the Canadian
Parliament more gender sensitive. Young (1997) notes that the AWP was important because women legislators had al1
experienced various forms of discrimination and this bred \' a sense of solidarity among female MPs across party lines" (p.97) .
Women across al1 parties in the House of Commons also worked together in the Sub-Committee on the Status of Women.
Unlike the AWP, this sub-cornmittee focused on social policy issues such as violence against women, semial assault, gun control, and breast cancer (Sharpe, 1994 : 220) .
Unfortunately, this sub-comrnittee was not continued after the 1993 election (Sharpe, 1993 . Even though this group was disbanded, Young (1997) argues that it achieved important inroads in voicing womenfs concerns. In focusing on these issues, the Sub-Cornmittee listened to the concerns of various feminist organizations. Specifically, the committee was greatly concemed about the need for more policies dealing with violence against women especially because of the Montreal Massacre where 14 women were murdered by one rnan.at the Ecole Polytechnique. Following these discussions, it produced a report titled The War
Asainst Women. This report "offered a holistic feminist analysis of the problem of violence against women (and) it identi£ied violence against women as a social problem with a basis in women's economic and social inequality and made a variety of recommendations aimed at remedying this inequality" (Young, 1997: 95) .
Even though the government did not adopt al1 of the
Sub-Cornmittee's recommendations as public policy, these efforts did have an impact on the decision-making process.
For example, after the Supreme Court struck dom the rape shield provision of the Criminal Code, the Justice Minister did not follow the cornmittee's recommendation of using the notwithstanding clause which would re-enact the clause
(Young, 1994 :96) . Instead, the Minister introduced the "
'no means no1 sexual assault legislation, which provides guidelines for determining the admissibility of the victim's past sexual history as evidence which gives a legal definition of consenttt'(Young, 1997: 96). The Sub-
Cornmittee also influenced Bill C-17 on gun control.
Although not al1 of its recornmendations were included into the legislation, this law did establish rules that al1 guns must be registered and that people registering for a firearm must provide at least two references (Young, 1994).
Breast cancer was another area of concern for the Sub-
Committee. It helped raise public awareness on the health side-effects of silicone breast implants and breast cancer in one of its reports. Young (1997) notes that the Sub- 137 Committee felt satisfied that it had raised public awareness
of this issue but they had not yet received full information
on how much public funding has been spent on breast cancer
(p.97).
Why have female politicians fonned cross-party
coalitions on only a few areas of concern to women? Young
points out that the female legislators involved in these
alliances were pro-feminist. Because political parties had
not yet developed any clear-cut policies on these issues,
these alliances were noteworthy because wornen helped shape
government policy in these areas. It is unlikely, then,
that female legislators can form strong coalitions on issues
such as day care " or other issues that require extensive
state expenditure for transfer of funds to individuals, as
parties differ significantly on these issues" (Young, 1997:
Judy Rebick also argues that ' women legislator's
have made a difference on abortion and violence against women" (Rebick, interview, 1996) . However, '' these are
issues which cross party lines" (Rebick, intewiew, 1996).
Nevertheless, " on economic issues there is not going to be any agreement, because they do not cross party lines" 138 (Rebick, interview,l996). She argues that this is
unfortunate because economic issues such as social services
cut-backs concern many women (Rebick, interview, 1996).
Arscott and Trimble argue that party discipline
generally has weakened female legislatorrsability to cross
party lines in support of women's interests. They state
that " the increased presence of women in legislatures does
make a difference, but not always in the same way or to the
same degree" (Arscott and Trimble, 1997:ll). Indeed, the
structures of party discipline and party ideology have an
impact on whether or not female legislators will support women's interests (Arscott and Trimble, 1997: 11). Even though women legislators have made cross-party coalitions with one another, ' elected women are CO-opted into male politics, especially when they are not part of a critical mass in the legislature, in their party caucus, or in
Cabinet" (Vickers, 1997: 30) .
What iai~actdoes d art ideolocrv have on fernale leaislators?-
Political parties in the House of Commons each hold different ideologies and perspectives on public policy.
Like male legislators, women MPs are recruited into a party because they support the values and principles of the organization.
Because of the ideological differences between parties in the present House, it is difficult for women to form cross-party coalitions. Owing to the right wing agenda of the Refom party, the Quebec-focused platform of the Bloc
Quebecois, and the centrist Liberals, women from these parties have not formed alliances. Kathy Reynolds argues that it is difficult for women from each party to work together. In Reynolds words, " in this Parliament, 1 think it is incredibly difficult to get the women from the three parties to talk about issues. They are just not singing out of the same hymn book" (Reynolds, interview, 1996) .
Feminism is incompatible with the Reform Party's ideology . More importantly, Ref orm women have dif ferent views on womenfs interests which differ from the other major parties. Even though they may speak for some women, they cannot form alliances with women who are more supportive of feminism. During a recent interview, Deborah Grey explained that she is embarrassed by the feminist movement and especially by radical feminists. For example, Grey argued that it is insulting when feminists argue that women should receive special treatment through policies such as
affirmative action in the work place. She also argued that
it is unfair that the government is supportive of NAC, and does not acknowledge the perspective of organizations such
as REAL women who promote women's role in the traditional
family. In Grey's words, ' REAL women do some excellent work but they do not get any government support" (Grey, interview, 1996) .
Mary Clancy argues that it is difficult for women to form cross-party alliances in the present House because of party ideology. Unlike Grey, she argues that her party is more supportive of feminism. Clancy notes that Liberal women form the majority of the elected women in the House, and they can make a difference. In Clancy's words, ' most
Liberal women are self-identified feminists, but if they would not use the word feminist, 1 would tell you that they would subscribe to the goals of feminism" (Clancy, interview, 1996) . She also explains that "there are one or two Liberal women who are not feminist but al1 the rest are
(in support of such issues as) gun control, human rights, abortion rights and gender equity" (Clancy, interview,
1996). Finally, she states that once female legislators 141. do hit 50-50 there will be even more O£ a difference" in policies concerning women (Clancy, interview, 1996).
Judy Rebick also argued that the Liberal party's ideology is more compatible with the goals of feminism.
Like Clancy, she argues that Liberal women generally agree with feminist principles. Rebick argues that " women in the
Liberal party tend to be more progressive and there is a larger percentage of women on the left of the party"
(Rebick, interview, 1996). Because of these factors, she argues that there is a gxeater chance that they can encourage more discussion on women's issues (Rebick, interview, 1996).
Even though both Clancy and Rebick argue that most
Liberal women are feminist, they did not note any example where Liberal women were instrumental in developing any public policy concerning women in the present House.
Remaining sections of this chapter will explore whether or not female legislators have had an impact on ensuring that womenfs issues are incorporated into predominant political discussion in the House of Comrnons.
Given the importance of party discipline, it is obviously difficult for fernale legislators to form cross- 142 party alliances on women's issues. Arguments have also been
made that party ideology is also a factor, and that women
from each of the parties often have contrasting views on women's issues. Nevertheless, women should still generate discussion on womenrs issues inside of their party. As we
saw, the high number of pro-feminist women in the Liberal party could play a role in pushing womenrs issues ont0 the party's agenda. Given their nurnbers in the majority Liberal caucus, they may also not need cross-party alliances to affect public policy. Bowever, it is necessary that future studies focus on the impact women legislators may have on incorporating women's concerns into party policies. This fits with Our earlier discussion on the importance of a critical mass of women legislators. A critical mass of female legislators is significant but women should also play a role in encouraging greater discussion on womenls issues. Before considering how party discipline affects how
Scandinavian women legislators form cross-party coalitions, it is necessary to consider how party discipline works in
Norway and Sweden. As we saw in the preceding chapter, representatives must have a career in their party before seeking a party's nomination. Berglund (1980)and Valen
(1988) note that Norwegian and Swedish candidates who support the partyrs values and principles are generally placed in high positions on nomination lists. This gives the leaders strong influence over the actions statements of party candidates.
Johan Olsen (1993) provides a comprehensive description of how party discipline functions in Norway. Olsen argues that when members engage in parliamentary debates, it is essential that they speak with a unified voice. Party discipline is rigid in Norway and ' the system makes representatives function in a certain way and makes it more di£ f icult for them to (always) Say what they really meanrr
(Olsen, 1983: 63). Sirnilar to the Canadian system, this helps guarantee that the electorate has voted for a program 144 where al1 representatives stand united in support of the party's political agenda (Olsen, 1983).
Like Canada and Norway, party discipline in the Swedish
Parliament is strict. In Parliamentary debates, the governing party must defend and promote their policies against those parties in opposition. Because party discipline is rigid in Sweden. Larsson (1988) notes that " the leadership of the parliamentary party group checks the proposals of individual MPs in order to avoid deviations
£rom official party line" (p.203). Even though al1 parties are subjected to party discipline this is less so when the party is in opposition (Larsson, 1988). As we saw in the
Canadian and Norwegian case, party discipline is important because political stability is maintained when al1 party members support the same platform (Larsson, 1988; Larsson,
1994) .
Similar to Canada, elected MPs £rom the governing party in Norway and Sweden are subject to interna1 pressures which ensure party loyalty. Representatives follow the party line, because they can be rewarded with important cabinet posts. Legislators who do not follow the party line can be sanctioned from receiving important committee and cabinet postings or higher ranking on election lists
(Berglund, 1980; Olsen, 1983; Valen, 1988; Larsson, 1988) .
During interviews carried out for this thesis, participants from Scandinavia provided interesting insights into how party discipline functions in these states.
Lisette Lindahl-Owens, a Swedish female member of the
Riksdag states that: "compared to Canada, 1 would Say that party discipline is not so strict. If you vote against the party-line in Sweden that doesn't mean that you could be excluded from certain party positions. But 1 think it is correct to Say that Swedish MPs mostly vote according to the party-line" (Lindahl-Owens, interview, 1996). Olla
Christensen states that Swedish MPs rarely cast free votes in Parliament ( Christensen, interview, 1996) .
Because Canada, Norway, and Sweden use political parties as a means of discussing public policy, it is not surprising that party discipline is strong in al1 of these systems. Furthermore, each political party functions as a group and it is essential that its members uphold the values and principles of their organization (Olsen, 1983;
Larsson,l988; Larsson, 1994). However, Our discussion of the Canadian system demonstrates that it is difficult for 146 individual members to bring new issues into public debate
which may not be part of the partyrs agenda. Perhaps this
may also be the case in Norway and Sweden. Because of this
concern, this section will investigate whether or not party
discipline has hindered Norwegian and Swedish female
politicians from forming cross-party alliances.
When studying this issue, the section will analyse the
cross-party coalitions women MPs have made in support of womenrs interests. Unfortunately, this is an issue that
feminist political scientists have only recently studied.
Because there has been 1imited research conducted on this area, only a few sources can be surveyed in this section.
There has been more research on the Norwegian case than on
Sweden. and the section will focus primarily on how female
MPs have functioned in the Norwegian Parliament.
Ji11 Bystydzienski and Hege Skjeie have done formative work on how female MPs have formed cross-party coalitions in the Norwegian Parliament or Storting (Skjeie, 1988; Skjeie,
1990; Skjeie, 1991; Bystydzienski, 1995). They note that party discipline has had an impact on women legislators' ability to co-operate with one another across party lines.
These scholars have made the same arguments as Canadian 147 feminist political scientists who have studied this issue
(Young, 1997) . Bystydzienski (1995) argues that female MPs
in Norway have had difficulty forming alliances in support
of women' s issues. Af ter conducting comprehensive
interviews with female Members of Parliament, she states
that women MPs ' are divided by different backgrounds and
experiences" (Bystydzienski, 1995 :61 1 . However, as in the
Canadian case, Norwegian women legislators have formed
cross-party coalitions in a few public policy areas such as
social security for mother's who work inside of the home,
and encouraging discussion on day care. Moreover, they can make a difference and female MPs may CO-operate more with one another over-time (Skjeie cited in Bystydzienski, 1995).
Nevertheless, she cautions that 'it seems that rnany small changes are occurring but ...the basic political structures continues as before, with most women politicians accommodating to them" (Bystydzienski, 1995: 64; Skjeie,
1991).
Skjeie (1990) makes similar arguments. She also carried out extensive interviews with female legislators in the Storting, and notes that party discipline has hindered their ability to promote wornen's issues. She states that 148 women representatives have brought new perspectives into the decision-making process but " still (on) major cleavages
(they) follow party lines" (Skjeie, 1990: 239) .
Even though feminist political scientists have not studied the impact of party discipline on female legislators in Norway to the same extent as Byçtydzienski (1995) and
Skjeie (1990), they also provide evidence that party discipline can be a problem. Ingunn Norderval (1995), a
Norwegian feminist academic, argues that even though female
MPs have formed cross-party coalitions in Scandinavian
Parliaments "their ability to do so is limited ...by the fact that female legislators have little control over... (the) larger parliamentary agenda" (p.86) . Joyce Gelb (1989), an
American feminist political scientist, has also argued in passing that this has been a problem for women in the
Swedish Parliament. " Once in office, women in (the
Riksdag) have tended to support party loyalties rather than gender concerns, in keeping with the overall (political) structure" (Gelb, 1989: 156) .
As we saw in the Canadian case, women only started forming cross-party coalitions in the late 1980's.
Norwegian and Swedish female MPs, in contrast, have had a 149 larger impact on the substance and tone of parliamentary debate, because they have had a critical mass since the late
1970's. Indeed, feminist academics have generally agreed that women MPs have made a difference. In addition, Skjeie
(1990) notes that al1 participants interviewed for her study primarily argued that Norwegian female legislators have had an impact on introducing issues such as child care and family issues into political debate. Bystydzienski (1995) also demonstrates that women politicians have played a valuable role in introducing and promoting women's issues.
Indeed, one female MP even noted that "before the changes in the '70s when more women got into politics, it was almost impossible to introduce into politics such topics as ...equality between the sexes. However, once women became a large minority, the men started to take more interest in matters that before were of concern only to women"
(Bystydzienski, 1995: 60). Skard and Haavio-Mannila (1985) also note that female legislators are more likely to openly advocate womenls concerns than their male counterparts.
Participants interviewed for this thesis also agreed that women legislators do make a difference. Olla
Christensen, a member of the Fredrika-Bremer society, one of 150 the oldest women's groups in Sweden, argued that women
politicians do have an impact on the substance and tone of
political debates. She argues that women legislators have
played a role in creating awareness about the importance of
women's issues such as day care (Christensen, interview,
1996). Kaj Nielsen, a diplomat at the Swedish Consolute,
argues that the increase of women in the Swedish Riksdag has
made politics more democratic because women can bring
different perspectives into public debate (Nielsen,
interview, 1996).
Even though we have noted that women legislators have
had an impact on influencing the dialogue of parliamentary debates, little mention has been made of the actual impact
female MPs have had on public policy. Bystydzienski (1995) provides examples of how Norwegian women legislators have and have not had an impact on policy concerning women. For example, she refers to one successful cross-party coalition
formed by female MPs which occurred in 1989. The Minister of Social Affairs met with a group of women legislators fxom the political parties and discussed how the social security system could be revised. The group of female MPs emphasized that people who had temporarily left the workforce to 151 provide unpaid child care work in their families should be able to include this period in claims for social security
(Bystydzienski, 1995; Skjeie, 1991) . Because it is women who prirnarily leave the workforce to take care of their families, Bystydzienski (1995) argues that this was a womenrs issue. Although the socialist parties were more supportive than parties of the right, female MPs did make a difference. The alliances made by women legislators helped ensure that al1 political parties included this legislation on their political agenda (Bystydzienski, 1995 1 .
Bystydzienski (1995) notes that fernale politicians have also tried foming coalitions in other public policy areas.
However, they have not always been successful. The Minister of Justice's proposa1 in 1989 which allowed visiting rights to fathers who had not lived with their children after their child's birth is an excellent case in point. Bystydzienski
(1995) explains that this policy was made behind closed doors with Cabinet ministers and was not part of a major platform for any of the parties. Although wornen's groups pressured female MPs to vote against the legislation, many women legislators voted in support of their party
(Bystydzienski, 1995; Skjeie, 1991). In the words of one 152 fernale Labour MP: "in my heart, 1 supported the rnothers, but my party's cornmittee recommended the change and if 1 voted against it, I also would be voting against the Labour
Cabinet' s proposal" (Bystydzienski, 1995 : 78). In any case,
Bystydzienski does not note that female legislators may have not stood united on this issue. It is more than likely that many female politicians felt that it is unfair that one parent should receive more custody rights than the other parent.
When Skjeie (1991) conducted her interviews, she asked several questions which differed £rom Bystydzienski (1995).
For example, she asked women legislators how many recent alliances they have made with women in different parties.
Although Skjeie (1991) did not specifically note these exact policy areas, she does record that "two thirds of the women members ...reported that they had participated in cross-party alliances (on women-specific issues), (but) only 10 percent reported that they had made one or more oppositional votes in Parliament" (Skjeie, 1991: 246) .
As we saw in the Canadian case, party ideology has had an impact on Norwegian fernale legislators. Day care policy is one example of where there are differences between female 153
MPs on the left and right. Wornen on the left argued that public day care centres axe essential because they encourage women to work in the public world. In contrast, women representing right-wing parties felt that families should receive subsidies because one parent should be at home with their children (Bystydzienski, 1995: 76; Skjeie, 1991). On
many issues concerning women, \' there is disagreement along party lines as to how these issues should be approached"
(Bystydzienski, 1995: 76; Skjeie, 1991). In any case, arguments can be made that these differences also help to ensure that the diverse concerns of al1 women are properly represented in the decision-making process.
Both authors conclude that female legislators in different parties did not CO-operate with each other on every public policy issue concerning women. Skjeie (1991) also argues that women politicians have mainiy formed alliances on issues, that do not nn into conflict with their male party CO-workers. In other words, she argues that women politicians will not form cross-party coalitions when the party has developed a clear stance on a particular
issue. She explains that \' a ~successfulalliancef is one that at the early stages of decision making succeeds in 154 shaping the position taken within each of the political
partiest* (Skjeie, 1991 :247) . Furthermore, "many (wornen
politicians) seek to influence party viewpoints, but most do
not challenge party priorities" (Skjeie, 1991: 235) .
The differences in ideological viewpoints on day care
reveals that rnost party discipline is self-imposed, because
female legislators are supportive of their organization's
values and principles (Skjeie, 1991) . More importantly,
Norwegian women MPs will not always cross party lines
because they often have different perspectives on women's
issues. Because of these factors, later sections will
examine the impact Noxwegian female legislators have had on ensuring that women's issues are incorporated into major political debate.
Although there is lirnited research on how women MPs have CO-operated with one another across party boundaries at the national level in Sweden, there is evidence that party discipline rnay be a factor in local politics. Gun Hedlund
(19881, a professor of Swedish womenfs studies, also supports Skjeie's (1991) and Bystydzienski's (1995) arguments. Through research with women legislators in
Swedish local politics, she argues in passing that 155 "political CO-operation with other women
...is ...unusual ... (because) such cross-party alliances would
be disloyal to the party and might affect negatively the
future career of the women politicians" (Hedlund, 1988: 88).
Lisette Lindahl-Owens, also points out that party discipline
may be a factor for women MPs in the Riksdag. In her words:
"the party usually maintain the party line whether it is a
social policy question or not" (Lindahl-Owens, interview,
This section could not provide more conclusive evidence on how this may or may not be a factor for women legislators
in Sweden, and more extensive research is required in this area. Hedlund's (1988) study does not shed enough light on this issue. Future research must instead focus on the perspectives of Swedish female MPs and what impact they have had on encouraging discussion on women's issues in the
Riksdag. It is also important to consider why female legislators from each party have dif£erent perspectives on women's concerns. Women have made impressive gains in the
Riksdag, and future studies on how female MPs function in the legislature would further Our understanding O£ this issue. In any case, this section can conclude that party discipline is strong in Sweden, and it is likely that it does have an impact on female MPs in the Riksdag.
In Canada's parliamentary system, some legislators have more power than others. A female legislatorrs influence over policy largely depends on her position. As we shall see, there is a vast difference in power between a Cabinet minister and a backbencher, and backbenchers in the government party have less power than their counterparts in opposition (Franks, 1987) . In Franks (1987) words: ' the prime minister holds enormous power and responsibility and ...a vast gulf exists between a backbencher and minister"
(p.13). Cabinet ministers must also ' cultivate a different set of skills (and) persuade or mollify a large and diverse group of frustrated backbenchers, many of whom are aspiring ministers" (Bakvis, 1994 : 142) . The Prime Minister also appoints Cabinet ministers who are elected from Canada's various regions. Since every province ought to be represented, even if it elects only one 157 government MP, the prime minister may be forced to include in Cabinet individuals who might otherwise not be chosen"
(Bakvis, 1994 : 149) . Unfortunately, MPs who would make excellent cabinet ministers may not be appointed because of the importance of regionalism (Bakvis, 1994 : 149) .
Women MPs have not been fairly represented in Cabinet posts. Even worse, there has been a trend where women legislators have been placed in posts commonly associated with women's issues. As we saw earlier, woments issues do not solely include policy areas such as reproductive rights, but also comprise policy areas which concern society in general. For example, economic policies such as fiscal restxaint concern everyone, but they also have a particular impact on women. Sharpe (1994) also argues that there has been a tendency where women have been appointed into 'softr posts such as health and other social welfare positions while male ministers are appointed into \hardfposts such as
Finance or National Defence. Indeed, this gendered division of labour is not solely a Canadian problem. A recent UN study explains that \\traditionally,women have been given responsibility for social areas but not economic or political ones" (UN, 1992: 117) . Has this changed over time in the Canadian Parliament?
Because of the importance of regional minsters and the
underrepresentation of female legislators, female MPs have
not been well-represented in Cabinet posts. If women are
not in positions of power, they will have difficulty
bringing new values and principles ont0 the political
agenda. In other words, without fair representation in
Cabinet, women cannot adequately promote women's interests
in key policy areas. Finally women legislators should not be ghettoised to posts which are primarily associated with women's issues. If women are appointed to posts which have been traditionally dominated by men, they can introduce new perspectives in al1 areas of the decision-making process.
Table 2.1 (appendix II) reveals that under the
Progressive Conservative government in 1984 and 1988 this pattern began to change. Even though women legislators were appointed to 'soft' posts, they were also represented in
'hard1 appointments. Indeed, during a brief period in 1993,
Canada had its first female Prime Minister. Aithough female legislators have held positions which deal with economic policies, they were not appointed to Finance and other major posts which are instrumental in the operation of other posts and the drafting of government budgets (Sharpe, 1994).
Despite these gains, feminiçt academics have been critical of the Conservative governmentts performance on woments issues. They argue that " the government party for the most part recruited like-minded neo- consenrative wornen to join its ranks" (Gotell and Brodie, 1991: 65) . However,
Gotell and Brodie (1991) have presumed that many Tory female
MPs were not representing wornen because they were non- feminists. No doubt, they did alienate feminists, but they may have addressed the concerns of non-feminist. Clearly PC female cabinet ministers and legislators did agree with their partyrs values and principles, but there are other factors which explain why there was inadequate attention on womenfs issues. Because wornen did not hold a critical mass in the legislature and were still underrepresented in
Cabinet, it would have been difficult for them to pressure the government to incorporate women's issues in the political agenda. As we shall soon see, future sections of this chapter will also consider other reasons why there was insufficient attention on women's issues.
This pattern did not improve in 1993 with the election of a Liberal government. Chretien appointed male MPs to most of the Ministerial posts. Table 2.1 (appendix II) demonstrates that women were appointed into fewer 'hardf posts and remained ghettoised in 'soft' posts. They also received less Cabinet appointments than their Conservative counterparts (Sharpe, 1994; Corpus Almanac, 1994). However, table 2.1 (appendix II) also reveals that that the Liberal
Cabinet was smaller than it was during the Mulroney years.
The reduced number of Cabinet seats as a whole also explains why Liberal women were not appointed to as many positions as
Conservative women.
Nevertheless, a woman does hold the post of Deputy
Prime Minister which entails representing the party while the Prime Minister is not in the House because of meetings, foreign travels and other government matters. Despite the increase in the number of elected fernale MPs however, women have not received any other significant posts such as
Finance, National Defence, or External Affairs (Sharpe,
1994: 132). However, female legislators did hold the
National Defence and External Affairs posts in the Tory government.
Even though the number of women MPs in the Canadian
Parliament is increasing, female legislators are still 16 1
highly under-represented in Cabinet. Women comprise half of
the population, and it is unfair that they have not received
fairer representation in Cabinet. Although appointments of
regional ministers are important, the Cabinet should also
reflect greater social diversity. Improvements are,
therefore, necessary if women legislators are going to
influence public policy concerning women. Furthermore, Our
analysis indicated that there have been instances wheke
women have been appointed to posts such as Justice or
National Defence, but they are still ghettoised in positions
which deal mainly with women's issues. Although women can
make a difference in 'soft' posts, they should also receive
representation in 'postst which have been traditionally
dominated by men. Public policy covered under 'hardr posts
also concern women and female legislators can help enrich
the decision-making process if they are properly represented
in various positions.
Women MPs h the Swedish and Nomecrian Cabinets?
Like the Canadian Parliament, cabinet rninisters in both of these systems have a greater impact on public debate than 162 ordinary Members of Parliament. Norwegian prime ministers also have considerable power because they appoint ministers into cabinet positions. Ericksen (1988) explains that ministers have considerable power because they are fully responsible for al1 public policy concerning their departments. Because ministers must be accountable for al1 matters concerning their departments they must negotiate with other ministers before developing public policy. These discussions are important because particular policies may have an impact on more than one department (Ericksen, 1988) .
Indeed Ericksen (1988) argues that powerful ministers of posts such as Finance, Local government, and Employment often negotiate with other ministers before making a decision because their policies often concern other departments .
Parliamentary democracy in Sweden is not different £rom
Canada and Norway. The prime minister can choose or dismiss other cabinet ministers. Like Norway and Canada, "rninisters
(in Sweden) have a double role: they act as spokesperson for a policy area in cabinet and they are held collectively responsible for overall cabinet policy" (Larsson, 1988:
198). Similar to Canada and Norway, a minister who receives the Finance post influences other departments (Larsson,
1988) .
As in Canada, Scandinavian feminist political
scientists have noted that there has been a trend where women have been appointed to 'softr posts. Raam (1995) argues that historically, female Mps in Norway and Sweden have been primarily appointed to posts associated with wornents concerns, such as Consumer and Administrative affairs, Social Services, or Church and Education. Men ,in contrast, have traditionally been appointed to positions such as Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Finance or
Transportation (Raam, 1995). Skard and Haavio-Mannila also explain that in 1985 Norwegian and Swedish women MPs were prirnarily posted to 'softi portfolios which were concerned with social policy and family issues.
Has this improved over time? Since 1985, Swedish female MPs have made impressive inroads in Cabinet. Table
2.2 (appendix II) reveals that women cabinet ministers have received greater representation than their Canadian counterparts. Indeed, female Ministers received equal representation in Cabinet for the first time in Swedish history (Sweden, 1996:4). Unlike Norway, Sweden still has not had a female prime minister, but they are well-
represented in the Social Democratic Cabinet. While more
female MPs received a high number of 'hard' and \softf
posts, a male minister was appointed to Finance (Sweden,
1996:4).
Why have Swedish women achieved impressive gains in the
Cabinet? In 1989 a special working committee was set up " to
exchange ideas and to stimulate further work for equality
between women and men" in the Cabinet (Sweden, 1995 : 35) .
This committee decided to set a target that at least 20
percent of the Cabinet must be comprised of female Cabinet
ministers (Sweden, 1995: 35). Because of this goal and the
election of a Social Democratic government, women have
achieved strong representation in Cabinet. Owing to this
factor, later sections will assess the impact female cabinet ministers have had on political debate in Sweden-
Women have also received strong representation in the present Norwegian Cabinet. Unlike Sweden and Canada, Norway
has a female Prime Minister. Table 2.3 (appendix II)
reveals that female cabinet ministers now hold 8 cabinet postings and £ive of these, including the prime minister, are 'hard' posts. However, male MPs still comprise a slightly larger proportion of the cabinet posts. More
importantly, a male cabinet minister holds the Finance
portfolio (Norge, 1996:4) .
The 1986 election of Labour female Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland was an historic breakthrough for Norway
(Skjeie, 1988) . Because of the Labour party' s ideology of
group representation, and Brundtland's goal of gender
equality, she set a standard where at least eight of the
cabinet ministers are female (Skjeie, 1988 : 28) . In
Brundtland's words "1 just donlt know where the idea (of
quotas) came from. But 1 have been working towards the goal
ever since 1 became involved in politics in the 1970's"
(Perry, 1987: Al).
However, Brundtland's govemment was elected into
office when the Norwegian economy was and still is
experiencing financial difficulty. Because of the need to
reduce the deficit, it has been difficult for the Labour govemment to maintain social programs (Perry, 1987; Norge,
1996) . Nevertheless, Brundtland contends that female cabinet ministers "tend to be compassionate (and she has also seen this) in. . .cabinet discussions" (Perry, 1987 : AS) .
As a result, ' when it came to putting together the belt- tightening budget, the women in cabinet simply couldn't bring themselves to cut spending for the construction of more kindergartens" (Perry, 1987 :A2) . No doubt , male cabinet ministers also supported this decision, because
Labour ideology is more supportive of social welfare than parties on the right.
Unlike Canada, women legislators in Norway and Sweden have achieved inroads in Cabinet. However, no woman in any of these countries has been appointed to the Finance post, which has a high level of power and influence. It is important that fernale legislators are also appointed to this post because they can have a greater opportunity to bring new perspectives into the decision-making process especially during this period of social service cutbacks. As we saw with the Norwegian case, female cabinet ministers were instrumental in ensuring that funding was maintained for kindergartens. If wornen are appointed to the Finance post, they rnay use their influence by explaining how certain financial policies rnay affect women and children.
Nonetheless, it is important to note that female cabinet ministers and leaders can also be fiscally right-wing. For example, former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, 167
focused on cutting back on government policies under the
neo-liberal agenda of the Conservative party.
Because it has only been since the late 1980's that
Norwegian and Swedish women MPs have been recruited into posts which have been traditionally held by men, it is too
soon to assess whether or not they have made a widespread difference in public policy. Nevertheless, from the evidence that we do have, Norwegian and Swedish fernale cabinet rninisters are begiming to make a difference.
Furthermore, an increase in positions of power could eventually help to ensure that parties are more attentive toward women's concerns. Because of this factor, the remaining section will assess what impact an increased number of female MPs have had on encouraging greater debate on women's concerns in Canada, Norway, and Sweden-
Are Women's Issues a Dominant Cleavaue in the Canadian
Why do certain cleavages receive greater attention than others by political parties? Meisel (1974) explains that 168
there are three kinds of political cleavages. For example,
different groups may have specific disagreements on certain
policies or decisions (Meisel, 1974:6). Other cleavages
include differences between cultural groups. Finally,
segmented cleavages can also occur between various
linguistic, regional and other social groups (Meisel,
1974:6).
He also explains that parties do not create political
cleavages. These divisions already exist within society.
However, political parties play an important role on
encouraging discussion on certain issues. He argues that
certain issues are ' deemed to be cleavages if they have an
enduring character" and concern parties for a long period
(Meisel, 1974:6) . Meisel (1974) also stresses that parties
'have assumed their present shapes because of the cleavage
structures which prevailed during (the parties) formative periods" and their reaction to these divisions shapes the nature of public debate (p.7). For example, the divisions between Quebec and the rest of Canada have been a key issue
since the early history of Canadian politics. Because of
this factor, this cleavage has played a major role in political debate between parties (Meisel, 1974 :6) . Brodie and Jenson (1988) also provide a clear definition of how dominant cleavages shape Parliamentary debate. They argue that "political parties help shape the interpretation of which aspects of social relations should be considered political, how politics should be conducted ... (and) which kinds of conflicts should be resolved through the political process" (Brodie and Jenson,
1988:ll) .
As we saw earlier, parties encourage these cleavages by including them in their political platforms. This is enhanced by party discipline because al1 members must promote a particular perspective of the issue and speak in the same voice. Meisel (1974) argues that parties organize themselves into distinctive 'camps' and promote a different stand on these key issues (p.11) . The electorate ,in turn, vote for parties which reflect their standpoint of the issues. Stein Rokkan (1970), a Norwegian political scientist, argues that the public does not decide how these issues will be discussed; rather political parties, shape debate on these issues. In the words of Rokkan (1970): "the voters are only rarely called upon to express their stands on single issues: they are faced with choices among 170 historically given 'packagesr of programmes, commitments and outlooks" of particular cleavages (p.78).
As we saw in the last chapter, political parties have different ideologies and different visions of how particular cleavages should be addressed. Canadian political parties have each promoted a different standpoint on dominant cleavages such as the deficit, Quebec separatisrn, and regionalism. We have already explained why Quebec separatism and regionalisrn are dominant cleavages, but questions still remain.
Why is the deficit considered a dominant cleavage?
Because of the mounting deficit, has been an persisting issue which has concerned political parties. Brodie (1991) also explains that the deficit has increasingly become a key cleavage between political parties. Although parties agree that the deficit is a problem, they had different positions on how it should be remedied. For example, the Liberals have pursued economic policies which seek to reduce the deficit. However, their policies have not been as stringent as those proposed by Reform. The Reform Party has asgued that the govexnment has not done enough to reduce the deficit. Indeed, they stress that the Liberals and 171
Conservatives have been fiscally irresponsible and are to blame for the mounting def icit (McCormick, 1991 :350) .
Furthemore, the centrist Liberals, the centre-right
Progressive Conservatives, and the social democratic NDP have traditionally voiced different positions on how problems such as the deficit or Quebec separatism can should be addressed. Presently, these cleavages have been even more enhanced in the House of Commons. It has been assured that these issues are the focal point of Canadian politics especially after the election of the centrist Liberals, the far right and Western Canadian oriented Reform party, and the Quebec separatist Bloc Quebecois.
Although these cleavages are important, they have overshadowed other interests that are equally significant and worthy of attention. For instance, womenfs issues, which concern half of the population, never have been a dominant cleavage or key platform issue of any major political party. As we saw in Chapter 1 and 2, women were not involved in politics, during the formative stages of
Canadian political parties (Meisel, 1974:6). Because women did not play a role in the early stages of political parties, their issues did not help shape the nature of 172 political parties (Meisel, 1974:6). Many political
scientists also argue that cleavages such as regionalism and
Quebec separatism divide the Canadian public in ways that do
not focus on gender or class (Brodie and Jenson, 1988) .
Brodie and Jenson (1988) argue that " party politics in
Canada remains trapped by a multiplicity of
cleavages,... (and) the party systern remains divided by many cleavages" (p.7) .
Other political scientists have made similar arguments.
Vickers (1994) also argues that women's interests have never been a key concern in any election or the focal point of any party. Galipeau (1991) argues that even though mainstream parties were involved in a major debate on women's issues in
1984 and 1988, they did not concentrate on how gender equality could be achieved. Sandra Burt explains that despite the major discussion of "women's issues' in the
1984 election, many feminist demands for a general reassessment of patriarchal culture and the construction of democratic foms of decision-making free of domination" were not discussed by the parties (Burt cited in Galipeau,
1991 :4ll).
Gotell and Brodie (1991) argue that "little effort has 173 been addressed to the conditions that continue to hold women in a subordinate position in Canadian society" (p.54).
However, dominant cleavages such as the deficit interact with women's interests. Because parties have not incorporated women's issues into dominant political debate, this era of government cut backs in such areas as health care, is having a negative impact on women. Furthermore, the limited number of fernale legislators in 'hard' posts, and the Cabinet in general, has also prevented major discussion on this issue. Many feminist advocates stress that the gains that women achieved in the 1970's and 1980's are being drastically cut despite the increase in female legislators in Parliament (Gotell and Brodie, 1991).
Louise Delude (1988) also argues that because women's issues are not considered to be a key concern amongst
Canadian political parties, they are overshadowed by problems such as the deficit. She argues that "the governmentrs large-scale projects such as tax reform, or free trade ...are bound to have a very negative effect on the long-term situation of Canadian women and their children"
(Delude, 1988:264). Clearly the deficit 3s a major problem and solutions are necessary to produce sustainable social 174 programs in the future. Regardless of this fact, womenrs concerns are not incorporated into political debate and this has caused the government to cut back in policy areas such as elder care and day care without adequately considering how this can hurt women (Brodie, 1994).
Despite the increase in the nurnber of female MPs this has not translated into greater discussion of womenrs issues and how these concerns are associated with other public policy areas. This problem becomes even more problematic because of Canada's rigidity of party discipline, which can hinder female legislators from promoting womenrs interests.
Moreover, as we saw earlier, Gotell and Brodie (1991) argue that very often women who support the neo-conservative agenda of reduced government and fiscal restraint are recruited into political parties. Young (1997) also notes that often female legislators are constrained by their partyrs focus on key cleavages which conflict with women's interests. Young (1997) argues that "female MPs in Canada often find themselves representing gender concerns within the constraints of both partisanship and regionalism"
(p.91). Additionally, female MPs may also be hindered £rom promoting public policies such as day care, because of the rnounting deficit and the high cost of these programs.
Many of the female legislators who were inteLïviewed for
this study argued that issues such as the deficit have
hindered their ability to promote womenrs issues. It is not
that they do not support the argument that women's interests
are important political concerns. The key problem is that
they must support their party's political agenda. One
female legislator who represents the Liberal party noted
that "the deficit has dominated everything in politicsu
(Cosman, interview, 1996) . Another participant , an MLA for
the NDP, argued that the deficit has shaped the outcome of politics and has been a setback for women's equality. This has had a particularly negative effect on wornen, especially with the reduction of health care, or inadequate day care services. In other words, the deficit has enhanced the ferninization of poverty (OrConnell, interview, 1996). Only one participant, who represented a right-wing party, actually argued that she campaigned in support of deficit reduction. In the words of Reform MP, Deborah Grey: "the deficit is my nurnber one concern. If we could get Our deficit under control, 1 think that this could help us with
Our social programs" (Grey, interview, 1996) . 176
Because wornen's interestç are not a dominant cleavage
in Canadian politics, they have been overshadowed by other
issues such as the deficit. As we have seen, this lack of attention toward wornen's concerns has hurt women especially during this period of social service cut backs. It is clear, then, womenrs issues are not considered to be a key
polit ical concerns ,
This fact has hindered the attempts of many female legislators to form more coalitions in support of women.
They must maintain party loyalty. Although this chapter has not focused on how regional concerns also hinder dialogue between English and French Canadian female legislators in the Bloc Quebecois and the other major parties, the divide on the national unity issue also prevents womenfs issues
£rom being incorporated into major political debate. As in the Canadian feminist movement, regional and linguistic divisions between women have prevented them from engaging in dialogue on why womenfs issues should be incorporated into the political agendas of al1 parties (Maroney and Luxton,
1987:7) Even worse, " the Bloc Quebecois is too focused on its main mission, sovereignty for Quebec, to have much impact on any other national or social policy issue" 177
(Sharpe, 1994: 139) .
More importantly, the increase of female MPs inside of political parties such as the Liberals has not ensured that women's concerns are incorporated into the party's dominant political agenda. The underrepresentation of women in the House, in Cabinet, and dominant cleavages such as the deficit and regionalism has also constrained their ability to bring new issues ont0 their party's political agenda.
Are Women's Issues a Dominant Cleavaffe in the Norweffian and
Swedish Parlmaments?
Like Canada, dominant cleavages have helped shape the
Norwegian and Swedish party systems. Unlike Canadian politics which focuses on non-class issues, class is the key conflict in these Scandinavian states (Brodie and Jenson,
1988). Sten Berglund (1980), a Swedish political scientist, explains that politics in Sweden is divided along class lines. He states that the two major blocs consist of the nonsocialist Conservatives, Liberal and Centre parties and the socialist Social Democratic and Communist parties
(Berglund, 1980). Olsen (1983) also argues that economic divisions between nonsocialists and socialists play a
dominant role in Norwegian politics. As we saw earlier, the
Socialist Left party is on the Left of the Labour Party '
while the Conservatives, the Liberals, Christian Democrats
and the Centre party have placed themselves on the centre of
the political spectrum. The Progress party, in contrast,
has placed itself on the right of al1 of these parties
(Dagre, 1995) .
What are the key political issues in Norwegian and
Swedish politics? The main concerns that have divided
Norwegian parties are tax reform, European Economic Union,
public sector expenses and territorial cleavages which
divide urban and rural areas of the country (Dagre, 1995).
Sweden's key conflicts are the problem of increasing
unemployment, the growing government deficit, and European
Economic Union (Sweden, 1995) . Similar to Canadian party
system, these dominant cleavages are the focal point of
Norwegian and Swedish politics, and parties incorporate
their perspectives on these issues through their political
agenda. Parties must maintain clear stands on these issues
and it is important that every party members speak with a
single voice. As in Canada, woments issues are not a dominant
cleavage in Norwegian and Swedish politics. Like Canada,
woments issues and their connection with other public policy
axeas have not been a major concern in the agendas of
Scandinavian political parties. Dahlerup (1987) argues that
'woments position in society has never been a major issue in
Scandinavian politics" (p.109) . Furthermore, no "government
coalition (has ever) fallen apart because of disagreements on the role of women in society and generally speaking, the political parties have avoided politicizing the issue"
(Dahlerup, 1987:123). Other feminist academics have made similar arguments. Helga Hernes (1987) argues that women have only recently entered politics and other decision- making structures. As we saw in chapter 2, women did not historically play a role in the formative structures of the party system because they were not involved in politics. As a result, woments issues and their connection with other public policy areas have remained depoliticized in
Scandinavian countries. This helps explain why women's interests are not a dominant cleavage even in countries where they have received high levels of representation.
Because literature on what impact this might have on 180
Scandinavian women is not as extensive as Canada, it is
difficult to assess how dominant cleavages have overshadowed
women' s concerns. However, a recent report (1993)
explains that "Sweden ... (and) Norway ...are finding their
generous social programs difficult to maintain during the
current recessive economy" (p.67). Even worse,
"unemployment has increased in these countries, and their
governments have been forced to trim their budgets"
(Economist, 1993:67). Although government cutbacks and
increased unemployment concern everyone in Sweden and
Norway, they particularly damage the lives of women.
Dominant cleavages between socialist parties who
support the expansion of the welfare state, and the non-
socialist parties who advocate a freer economic market, has become intensified because of the growing deficit. Because of the increasing popularity of non-socialist parties and
the problern of the deficit, social democratic parties have had to reduce spending on the welfare-state (Sweden, 1995;
Norge, 1996).
Hernes (1987) explains that the divide between socialist and non-socialist parties has affected Norwegian and Swedish women. She explains that because of socialist government's policies on expanding the welfare-state, a large number of women have received employment in government sectors, and have benefitted £rom public policies such as universal day care and maternity leave (Hernes, 1987:72).
However, because of the importance of remedying the deficit, and the cleavages between socialist and non-socialist parties on this issue, this has had a major impact on women's lives. As in Canada, it is essential that the deficit problem be remedied, but the inadequate discussion of how these policies interact with women's concerns has had a negative impact on women. This concerns many women, because a high percentage of women work in the public sector and rely on social welfare services such as day care.
No doubt, reduced spending on public services will have a greater impact on the economic stability of women who depend on social welfare services or are employed by the state. For example, Skjeie (1991) argues that Norwegian women are primarily found in health care or caring positions. "In total, 53 percent of working women are currently employed in occupations that are 90-100 percent dominated by women, with 32 per cent in occupations that are
60-90 percent dominated by women" (Skjeie, 1991: 93) . Women 182 in Sweden do not differ from their Norwegian counterparts.
Most women in Sweden \' work at stereotypical women's jobs, at lower pay, in day care centres or hospitals" (Anderson,
1991:239) .
Because women's concerns are not a dominant cleavage in
Scandinavian politics, the impact of government restructuring on women has not played a central role in political debate. Those who were interviewed for this study made similar arguments. Christensen explains that unemployment is very high by Swedish standards. She argues that the future of welfare is questionable. Furthemore, this is having negative side-effects on women because they are concentrated in public sector jobs. It is important, therefore, that Swedish women legislators create awareness of how these changes hurt women (Christensen, interview,
1996). Nielsen also explains that dominant cleavages in
Sweden such as fiscal restraint can be damaging for public sector employees. This has been a particular problem for women because there is a high percentage of female government workers (Nielsen, interview, 1996). Finally,
Lindahl-Owens argues that these dominant cleavages will have an impact on women "particularly when fiscal constraints 183
threaten parts of the public sector (health care etc) where
the majority of employees are women" (Lindahl-Owens,
interview, 1996) .
How can women legislators ensure that women's concerns do become an important political issue in Scandinavian politics? Our earlier discussion on party discipline argued
that even though the high numbers of women MPs in
Scandinavian politics have formed cross-party coalitions, they cannot function in this manner on every public policy issue. Like their Canadian counterparts, women have had difficulty forming alliances when parties have a clear-cut stand on an issue. Women MPs must maintain party loyalty in areas which involve dominant cleavages. Because of the divisions between parties, women legislators £rom each of these organizations should work toward encouraging their party to include women's concerns and its connection with other public policies ont0 the political agenda.
Perhaps there is a greater chance that Norway and
Sweden will eventually see women's issues as a more important cleavage. The female cabinet minister's influence on the decision not to cut day care spending is one example that the Norwegian Labour party may be moving in this 184
direction.
Brodie and Jenson (1988) argue that countries such as
Norway and Sweden who are divided along class lines can
bring broader social concerns into political debate.
Socialist parties argue that they are the true
representatives of the working class and other social groups who are oppressed by capitalism. These parties contend that non-socialist parties merely represent the middle class and not other social groups. Because of this cleavage, non- socialist parties have tried to prevent class cleavages £rom forming, but this cleavage has remained in tact in Norway and Sweden (Brodie and Jenson, 1988 : 10) .
Because countries such as Norway and Sweden are divided along class lines, there is a greater possibility to discuss related concerns such as the gendered division of labour in the workforce (Brodie and Jenson, 1988 : 11) . Under the domain of class based politics, electoral politics can
incorporate discussion on a means \\ to redress gender inequalities, or mechanisms for expressing and resolving class conflict" (Brodie and Jenson, 1988: 11). Given the class based nature of Norwegian and Swedish politics, and the high nurnber of female MPs in most of the political 185 parties there is a greater chance that woments concerns can be incorporated into dominant political discussion.
No doubt because socialist parties support group equality, female legislators who are elected into these organizations have a greater chance to mobilize their fellow party rnembers to increase discussion of womenfs issues. If socialist parties include women's issues and how they are linked to other major public policy areas such as the deficit ont0 their political platform, non-socialist parties may be forced to respond. Female legislators in non- socialist parties could, in turn, play a valuable role in encouraging discussion of the diverse concerns of women through the decision-making process.
Concluding Remarks
Arguments have been made that changes are needed in
Canadian, Norwegian, and Swedish political parties to increase discussion on women's issues. The first section argued that although women have made alliances in the
Canadian system, they cannot always function in this manner especially when the party has made a clear-cut stand on an issue. Furthermore, female legislators £rom across party 186 lines do not always agree with each other because of party ideology. As we saw, female MPs from each party also have different perspectives on women's issues. However, female legislators can only have an effective impact on public policy once their numbers increase in al1 of the major parties. Finally, when there are more women MPs in each of the parties, the need for cross-party alliances may eventually decline.
Given this factor, female legislators from each party should work toward incorporating these perspectives ont0 the political agenda of their party. Our examination of the
Reform party indicated that this is unlikely to occur in this organization because they do not believe that there are issues of specific concern to women. However, female legislators could function in this manner inside of parties such as the Liberals, NDP, and ,to some extent, the
Progressive Conservatives .
As in Canada, Norwegian and Swedish Eemale legislators have also formed cross-party coalitions, but they cannot always function in this manner because of party discipline and party ideology. Unlike Canada, female legislators have had a greater impact on debate, because they have formed a critical mass since the 1970's.
Following this analysis, the chapter argued that
Canadian women legislators are underrepresented in the
Cabinet generally and they have not received powerful posts such as Finance. Because of this problem, fernale legislators in Canada have less power and influence than male MPs. Not surprisingly, this helps explain why female legislators have had difficulty bringing new issues ont0 the table. Changes in this area are clearly needed if women in the Canadian Parliament are going to make a greater difference.
Women in the Norwegian and Swedish Parliaments, in contrast, have recently received strong representation in
Cabinet posts. Our discussion of the impact of Brundtland's
Cabinet on day care policy also provides evidence that female cabinet rninisters are beginning to make a difference.
Owing to their increase in numbers, women MPs may have an even greater chance of bringing new issues into future political debate.
However, the dominant cleavage argument demonstrated that women's issues have never been a key issue in Canadian and Scandinavian party systems. Govexnments in both Canada, 188
Norway, and Sweden have cut social programs such as health
care and day care and have not adequately assessed the
negative impact this has had on women. It is essential that
wornents issues are incorporated ont0 the main political
agendas of Canadian and Scandinavian parties because these
issues are clearly connected with other areas such as
financial and economic policies.
Changes are ,therefore, needed in Canadian, Norwegian, and Swedish party systems. Increasing the nurnber of female legislators will not by itself influence public policy concerning women. Female legislators in Canada must concentrate on pushing parties to include women's issues ont0 the dominant political agenda. If female politicians
£rom one of the major parties function in this manner, other parties may be forced to respond by setting their own platform on womenrs issues. If women politicians from each of the parties include these issues into dominant political debate, this will play an invaluable role in ensuring that womenrs diverse concerns are also considered when parties make decisions in areas such as economic policies. As mentioned earlier, this can only occur if the number of female MPs increase in each of the parties, and if women are 189 strongly represented in Cabinet in the governing party.
Furthemore, owing to the intense regional and non-class
cleavages in Canadian politics, this will clearly be a
di£ficult task for f emale legislators.
Because of the high nurnber of elected female
legislators, women's strong presence in Cabinet, and the
class cleavage, it is more likely that we will see this
change occur sooner in Norway and Sweden. Dominant
cleavages such as the deficit are beyond the control of
parties, but they must incorporate the concerns of society
in general when developing these policies. Only when these
changes occur, will an increased number of female
legislators in Canada, Norway, and Sweden play an invaluable
role in creating awareness that women's concerns are linked with other dominant cleavages. As we shall see in the
concluding chapter, recommendations will be made on how women's concerns can receive a greater voice in Scandinavian and Canadian party systems. ter 6- Conclu
Introduction
Norwegian and Swedish women legislators have nearly achieved legislative parity with male politicians. The number of female legislators in the Canadian Parliament has also increased, but not to the same degree as their
Scandinavian counterparts, Because of these differences, this thesis has assessed why Norwegian and Swedish women have registered greater electoral inroads than Canadian female politicians. It has studied the barriers facing
Scandinavian and Canadian female MPs on introducing women's issues into the public arena.
This concluding chapter will first summarize the overall findings of this thesis. The chapter will then consider the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party
Financing's (RCERPF) recommendations concerning how women's political representation can be increased in Canada. It will also outline the various suggestions female legislators and feminists have made toward remedying this problem. It will then study the proposals Scandinavian feminist
190 191 academics have made to improve the problems female MPs experience once they are elected. Finally, the chapter will outline areas for further research- Arguments will be made that an increase in female legislators will not by itself change public policy concerning women. Electoral systems and parliamentary structures require changes which can help female legislators represent women's concerns.
This thesis first argued that original liberal theory viewed women as being ill-suited for political life.
Because of this factor, early and contemporary liberal feminists were critical of these theories and argued that women should have equal access into public institutions such as political parties, on the same basis as men.
Nevertheless, they did not explain why women should bring new issues onto the table and why political structures require changes. Ferninist theorists are now critical of liberal feminism. They argue that female legislators must prornote women's concerns once they enter public office, and that political parties, legislative and electoral systems 192 require modifications. Despite these strengths, there are
several problems with these feminist's discussion on this
issue. They primarily argue that feminist female
legislators can only represent women's concerns. Feminist
female MPs may represent the concerns of feminist women, but
they do not speak for women who are not feminists. Indeed, non-feminist female legislators can also play an invaluable
role in addressing the concerns of women who do not agree with feminism. It is ,therefore, important that future theories on women and representation look at how female legislators can represent feminist and non-feminist women.
Chapter 2 sets up the basic argument of the rernaining chapters. It argues that political parties and electoral and legislative structures require modifications in order to enable wornen legislators to promote women's concerns in more public policy areas.
Chapter 3 studied the political history of women's involvement in party politics in Canada, Norway, and Sweden.
Arguments were made that women's participation in party politics was not a major issue in the Canadian women's movernent during the 1960's and l97Ovs. Because the various strearns of Canadian feminism did not work together in 193
support of this cause, not enough e££ort was made toward
encouraging more women to run for political parties. The
chapter then argued that Norwegian and Swedish feminists
across the ideological spectrum worked together in support
of women's increased political participation. Arguments
were also made that unlike Canada, Norwegian and Swedish
women had more ideologically sympathetic parties to work in,
and choose the partisan route more readily than Canadian
feminists. As a result, this partly explains why
Scandinavian female legislators have registered higher gains
than their Canadian counterparts.
Chapter 4 argued that electoral systems in Norway and
Sweden are more favourable toward increasing the number of
female legislators than the Canadian structure. Because of
the lesser barriers in Scandinavian countries, this chapter provided further evidence for why women's groups encouraged women to work through parties and elections more so than in
Canada. In Scandinavia, they use proportional representation which allows for greater social diversity because two ox more candidates can be placed on electoral
lists. Achieving social diversity through the Canadian electoral process is more difficult because only one 194
candidate can win a nomination for an electoral seat.
Women in Canada have also been hampered £rom entering
party politics, because party finance laws and nomination
expenses make it important that candidates be well connected
with corporations and well-off individuals. Unlike Canada,
elections in Norway and Sweden are state financed and no
expenses are required for women to run on party lists.
Because of this factor, it is not a female candidate's
ability to outspend her opponents that guarantees her
electoral success, but rather her popularity within the
local party which helps ensure her a high ranking position
on the list.
Finally, the chapter studied party ideology and its
impact on recmiting more women into electoral office. As we
saw, the NDP, a social democratic party has a 50 percent
affirmative action policy on recruiting more women into
office. In contxast, the Liberals and Conservatives do not
have quotas because of their philosophy of individualism and
that candidates should not receive special treatment in
their pursuit for public office. Even though each party has elected more women over-time, the NDP has elected the
least number of women because it has generally won less 195 seats than the other parties.
In Norway and Sweden, a number of socialist and leftist parties have gender quotas. Parties across the ideological spectrum have elected a high number of women, and this indicates that women have fared well in these countries.
Al1 of these factors combined help explain why Norwegian and
Swedish women politicians have registered greater electoral inroads than women legislators have in Canada.
Chapter 5 assessed whether or not fernale legislators in
Canada, Norway and Sweden have promoted women's concerns once they are elected. This chapter considered the impact of party discipline and ideology on female legislators.
Owing to the recent increase in the numbers of Canadian female MPs, several cross-party coalitions have been made, although fewer were formed following the 1993 election.
However, female legislators have not always broken ranks in support of wornen's issues because of different party ideologies, and the diverse perspectives of female MPs across party lines on women's issues. This has also been a factor in Norway and Sweden, but female MPs have had a greater impact on the tone and the dialogue of public debate because they have had a critical mass since the 1970's. 196
Canadian women legislators experience further problems because they are underrepresented in Cabinet positions.
Women MPs in Canada have also been marginalized into 'softl posts which primary deal with womenrs issues. Although both posts are important, other policy areas such as Finance also interconnect with women's concerns. In order for female politicians to have an effective impact on public policy, they must be appointed to various Cabinet posts. Norwegian and Swedish female legislators have received strong representation in Cabinet posts, and this section demonstrated that they are beginning to have an impact on public policy concerning women.
Finally, chapter 5 demonstrated that women's issues have never been a dominant cleavage in Canadian and
Scandinavian party politics. Because women's issues have never been a major political issue for parties, there has been insufficient discussion on how dominant cleavages such as the deficit are connected with women's concerns.
Dialogue on this problem has been even more constrained in
Canada because of intense regional divisions, the underrepresentation of female MPs in the legislature and
Cabinet, and the rigidity of party discipline. Change is 197 more likely to occur in Norway and Sweden because of the class cleavage between parties, and the high number of fernale MPs in parliament and cabinet. In essence, this chapter argued that changes are needed in Canadian and
Scandinavian parliamentary democracies which can help to assure that female legislators can represent women's diverse concerns.
How can the ~roblemof womenls underrearesentation in the
Canadian Parliament be remedied?
This thesis has explained why Canadian party institutions require reform, but has not concentrated on how this can be realized. Recently, the RCERPF (1991) drafted a series of reports which explained how Canadian political parties can be more egalitarian and fair for al1 citizens.
The report did not support the use of PR in the Canadian electoral system. Even though PR has been an important factor which has increased the numbers of elected female
Norwegian and Swedish MPs, it has not had the same result in other countries such as Belgium and Spain who also use this system. For example, Belgium women hold 8.5 percent of the 198 legislative seats while only 6.5 percent of Spanish MPs elected in 1988 were women (RCERPF, 1991: 112). As we saw earlier, the use of gender quotas under PR explain the electoral success of women politicians in Norway and Sweden.
Because of these factors, the RCERPF advises that Canadian parties should have more search committees dedicated to finding women candidates, and this should be legislated under the constitution of each party (RCERPF, 1991) . PR might help, where parties are ideologically inclined to balance their candidates for office.
The final report primarily focused on the financial barriers which disadvantage many women from even participating in party politics. It argued that nomination expenses should be limited, and should not be the main reason why some candidates win cornpetitive ridings (RCERPF,
1991). Recommendations were also made that candidates contesting a nomination should also be able to issue tax receipts to contributors (RCERPF, 1991). Suggestions were also made that child care expenses should be tax deductible when a candidate is seeking a nomination or an electoral seat (RCERPF, 1991).
The RCERPF has outlined many important remedies which 199 cari provide a more fair and just electoral system for al1 candidates. Ideally, a combination of affirmative action policies and a PR system would provide a greater reflection of social groups through the Canadian electoral system.
Nonetheless, the use of PR in replace of the single-member constituency system would require a major reconstruction of
Canada's electoral structures and it is unlikely that this change will be made in the future.
Perhaps the introduction of dual-ridings which represents both a male and a female candidate could be implemented. Under this system, ' womenrs and men's votes would be counted separately, and men and women would then elect separate members to Our legislative arena" (Boyle cited in Bashevkin, 1991: 118). Although this would partly solve the problem, it does not seem feasible that parties would adopt this systern especially when gender has never been a dominant cleavage in Canadian politics.
As it stands, the use of search committees by local organizations would be a more realistic solution. Feminist groups should mobilize in support of this reform. On this note, the women's movernent should no longer view party politics as a fringe concern. They can play a valuable role 200 in creating awareness that political parties require more search committees which can help to recruit more female candidates as in Scandinavia. As we saw, Maille (1997) argued that women's groups should encourage more self- identified feminists to enter public office. This could be an important step toward improving public policy concerning women. However, it is also important that parties also recruit women who may not support feminism, in order to be more representative of the diverse concerns of women.
The RCERPF offered several suggestions on how female candidates can overcome financial barriers at the nomination level. Nonetheless, there are other measures which can help solve this problem. Parties should provide funds which do not only assist female candidates during elections but should also be provided at the nomination level.
Canadian female legislators and feminists who took part in this study agreed with the report's suggestions on how to improve this problem, They also proposed other measures which could help increase the number of women MPs in the
House. Francine Cosman argued that the present legislative systems in the provinces and at the national level are outdated. The provision that legislators must be present 201
during legislative debates, prevents many young mothers from
even participating in politics. She explains that this is
not a problem for politicians who live close to the
legislature, but it is if a legislator lives far £rom the
legislature. Cosman argues that, " we are not structured to
accommodate women with young families as legislators"
(Cosman, interview, 1996) . Perhaps ' the obvious (solution)
is to use technology (where a legislator) can take part in
the debates and vote" electronically while still at home
(Cosman, interview, 1996).
A device where legislators could participate in debates by means of technology certainly would increase the paxticipation of young mothers and people who live far from
the legislative arena. However, Cosman's suggestion does not solve the problem of women's lack of representation in the Cabinet and in Parliament. As we saw earlier, Cabinet positions require extensive responsibilities. Because
Cabinet ministers are responsible for their department and must help to maintain the support of a majority of MPs, this full-time position would also discourage many female legislators with young families from entering Cabinet.
Owing to the complexity of this problem, it is difficult to recornmend how this problem can be resolved.
Perhaps one obvious suggestion would be to have more extensive state-subsidized day care centres which can have an impact on alleviating some of the difficulties young mothers have experienced because of their role as primary rare givers. More day care centres can also help to encourage more women to participate in politics, and other areas of influence. Recently, however, the federal government decided not to implement its policy for a national day care plan, because of financial reasons (Globe and MaiL, 1996: A7). On this note, it is essential that there is more awareness on the importance of day care, because it can have a major influence on womenfs participation in politics and othex areas.
Unlike the Royal Commission, Judy Rebick supports PR.
She argued that a combination of PR and a more extensive quota system would help to increase the number of female legislators. Rebick explains that the electorate would be more aware of whether or not a party is supportive of gender parity, because of the position of women candidates on the list (Rebick, interview, 1996) .
Rebick's argument in support of PR and gender quotas 203 would make the Canadian Parliament more representative of
women. In spite of this advice, it is doubtful that the
government would implement these reforms. Indeed, most of
the interview participants did not agree with the
introduction of PR into the Canadian electoral system. It
is not surprising that they did not agree with PR, because
they won their seat under the single-member system. Despite
this problem, policies on gender quotas and an increased
number of search cornmittees would help to increase the
number of female legislators. It is especially important
that the Liberals, Conservatives, Reform, Bloc Quebecois and
the NDP incorporate these reforms into their party
constitutions.
Participant's comments regarding cross-party alliances between female MPs produced less satisfactory results. Most of the participants agreed that women legislators should discuss women's issues more often with one another across party lines, but did not explain how this could be realized.
Nevertheless, Mary Clancy argued that if the number of female MPs increases inside of the party, women can be instrumental in placing women's issues on their own organization's political agenda. As we have seen, this is an important step toward generating greater discussion on wornen's concerns. Furthermore, once the representation of women increases inside of each party, the number of cross- party coalitions between female MPs may eventually decline.
If more women receive greater representation inside of each party, they can play an important role in incorporating women's concerns into more public policy areas. Finally, this could, in turn, help to ensure that the diverse perspectives of women receive more attention at the legislative level. Additionally, it is also important that fernale MPs receive stronger representation in \hardf and
'soft' Cabinet posts.
What suacrestions have Scandinavian women made concerninq
rob,]em?
Arguments have been made that Swedish and Norwegian female candidates do not experience significant obstacles at the nomination and election level. Unlike Canada, social democratic parties have dominated the political scene in
Norway and Sweden. Because of the popularity of socialist parties, Norwegian and Swedish women have enjoyed more progressive social services such as universal day care that are not enjoyed by their Canadian counterparts.
Regardless of this factor, women MPs have been hampered £rom advocating womenrs concerns once they achieve public office. Skjeie (1991) advises that separate womenrs forums can " present an arena where political issues can be explored and deliberated specifically in tems of their consequences for womenw(p. 258). In other words, Norwegian female MPs can make greater use of womenrs organizations inside of political parties as a means of providing greater discussion on womenfs issues (Skjeie, 1991) .
Sainsbury (1993) also advocates that Swedish women polit icians "make womenrs issues into party issues" (p.
289). In other words, if these interests become a major part of party concerns, there will be greater discussion on women's issues. If this occurs, there will be an increased opportunity for women MPs £rom each of the parties to represent the diverse concerns of women (Sainsbury, 1993).
Unfortunately, Sainsbury (1993) does not offer any suggestions on how women's issues can be incorporated into party issues. Skjeie's (1991) recommendation does shed 206 further light on this issue. Perhaps separate women's forums, inside each political party, can play a valuable role in generating discussion on wornen's issues amongst women politicians. Women legislators from each of the parties could also represent the diverse concerns of women.
In any case, there are problems with this suggestion.
Separate women's organizations may only marginalize women's issues and rnay not ensure that women's issues become a significant part of a partyrs agenda or encourage wider discussion between legislators across party lines.
This thesis has also argued that it is important that women's concerns become a dominant part of political debate.
Because of the increased number of female MPs in the legislature, Cabinet, and the class cleavages between non- socialist and socialist parties, Norwegian and Swedish female MPs currently have a greater chance to improve this situation. As a result of these factors, it is likely that change will occur in these countries before it does in
Canada. Norwegian and Swedish female MPs must, therefore, use their numerical strength to push wornen's concerns ont0 the dominant agenda of each political party. Even if this initially occurs in one party it is possible that other 207 parties may be forced to respond and present their own platform on women's issues. If this occurs, this can be an invaluable means for female MPs to represent the diverse concerns of women.
Whv this to~icreures further resem?
This thesis has studied why Scandinavian women enjoy higher levels of representation than their Canadian counterpart. It has also analysed why womenfs issues have not received more discussion at the legislative level in both systems. Despite the extensive analysis of both of these problems, further investigation is needed. In the future, feminist academics should pursue more comparative research into these areas. In order to understand the problems women experience at the electoral level, Canada can be compared with New Zealand. Because New Zealand has recently adopted a PR system, feminist academics should assess whethex or not this has helped to increase the representation of women. Feminist political scientists can 208
also consider whether these changes to New Zealandrs
electoral system have improved discussion on women's issues.
Feminist academics should also study why female
legislators from each party have different perspectives on
issues concerning women. Owing to the differences between
women such as class, ethnicity, ideology and sexual
orientation, feminist academics should evaluate why women
legislators may have difficulty ever reaching a consensus on
these concerns. This can shed light on why this may be more
difficult for Canadian female legislators than their
Scandinavian counterpart, because Canada is more ethnically
diverse. Future study is ,therefore, needed concerning how public policy areas such as deficit reduction intercomect
with the diverse concerns of women and why these interests must play a more vital role in political debate.
As we saw earlier, more research is needed on the role of Norwegian and Swedish female legislators once they enter
Parliament. Only through further study, will we understand
that an increase in the numbers of female MPs will not by
itself guarantee that women's concerns will receive more political attention. Further investigation into this area
should also assess how female MPs can help to incorporate 209 women's issues ont0 the agendas of each political party.
Nevertheless, this thesis has also demonstrated that
female MPs in Norway and Sweden have enjoyed even greater
than their Canadian counterparts at the legislative level.
Owing to the fairer electoral laws in these countries, women
have experienced reduced barriers and this has had a
significant impact on increasing the numbers of women in
these Parliaments. Even though women's issues are presently not a dominant cleavage in these states, female MPs in
Norway and Sweden are beginning to have an impact on
introducing these concerns into legislative debate. Because of these factors, Canada can learn much £rom these countries.
In any case, this study has also illustrated that the representation of women in Canada has also increased, and female legislators have, to some extent, helped to incorporate women's concerns into legislative debate.
However, they have not achieved as many electoral and legislative gains as Norwegian and Swedish women MPs.
Arguments have also been made that womenls issues and their connection with other public policy areas are not a dominant cleavage in Canada, Norway and Sweden. Further 210 academic inquiry into the importance of women's political representation, and why it is essential that women receive a greater voice in legislative debate will help to generate more awareness of this issue. In essence, if women attain gender parity and women's issues become part of major political discussion, this can have an invaluable impact on representing the diverse concerns of women in Canada,
Norway, and Sweden. Table 1.1 Percentage of elected wornen MPs in Canada, Norway, and Sweden, 1980-1994.
Canada 1980 5
1984 10
1988 13
1993 1993 1994 18 42 40 :yzdienski, 1995:14; Froman,
Table 1.2 Women's Participation in Canadian local conetituencies at -the federal level, 1990. % Ri- Prouressive . . Liberals gosltlon Conservat ive
President Treasurer Secretary
- source : (Bashe~ Table 1.3 Backgrounds of Canadian female candidates and MPs, 1988
Age Candidate Elected Under 40 47 14.8 41-50 33.3 33 -4 51-60 13 -3 40.7 60+ 6.7 11.1
Mothers Yes 72 -3 No 27.7
Age of Younges t child
Under 1 5.8 2-5 8.8 6-10 11.8 11-15 11.8 15+ 61.8
Employment Law Administrator Business Educator Social Serve technical mun gov' t f armer homemaker unemployed other
source: (Brodie, 1991:43). Table 1.4 Number of Elected Women and Men in the Canadian House of Coainions, Governing Party as Indicated by Bold Face 1980- 1993.
Party 1980 won/ran
Liberal women 10/14 men 133/268
PC women 5/44 men 35/238
NDP women 2/33 men 30/247
source: (Sharpe, 1994:226). Table 1.5 Partisan Dietribution of eeates in the Swedish Rikedag, and Norwegian Storting, 1993 Sweden Percentage of Norway Percentage of Elected Party Seats Elected Party Seats
Social Dem 45.5 Labour Party 40.6 Moderate 22.4 Conservative 17.0 Liberal 7.2 Centre 19.4 Centre 7.7 Le£ t 7.8 Lef t 6.2 Christian 7.8 Green 5.0 Progress 6.0 Christian 4.1 Liberals .6 Cornmunis t -6
;ource: (Sweden,1995:226; Norge, 1995:4).
Table 1.6 Number of men and women elected to the Swedish Riksdag, 1991-1993 Paxtv 1993: Social n5- Dernocrat w women/men
Moderate Liberal Centre Christian Social Dem Left Green N= source: (Sweden, 1995:2; Jacobson and Alfredson, 1993:57). Table 1.7 Percentage of women elected to the Norwegian Storting, 1989-
1989: i993 Labour Labour
Communist O O Soc. Le£ t 41 46 Labour 51 51 Liberal O O Christian 36 38 Centre 27 40 Consew 30 29 Progress 5 10
Total % 3 6 42
source: (Valen, 1988:226;Skjeie, 1991:84; Bystydzienski, 1995: 13) . Table 2.1-Female MPs appointed to P.C and L beral Cabinets. Conservat ives Department s
Hard Sof t -Energy -Secretary of -1nternation State Trade (Youth). Privitization -Status of -Externa1 Women A£ fairs -1ndian and -Justice Northern -De£ence Af fairs -Prime Minis ter (only for a few months) . Cabinet seats N=34 29 % women Liberals Departments Soft -Deputy Prime -Environment Minis ter -Health and -Energy Welf are -Natural -Status of Resources Women Cabinet mats N=23 2 6% women Table 2 -2 Sweden Female Cabinet Ministers appointed to the Social Democratic -Cabinet, 1993.
Hard S_o.ft -Justice -Social -Foreign Af fairs Af fairs -Cultural Communication A£ fairs -Agriculture -Environment -Labour -without portfolio-3 Cabinet seats N=22 5 0 % women
source: (Sweden,1996 :4).
Table 2.3 Norway Female MPs appointed to the Labour Cabinet Department
Hard çoft -Prime -Cultural Minister Af fairs -Agriculture -Children and -Trade and Family Shipping A£ f airs - Development -Social Cooperation Af fairs -Justice
Cabinet seate N=19 - 4 2 % women Iource: (Norge, 1996:4) . References
. . .. Anstee, M (1989). payticlption in Dewn- asfor Peace- Ca$~!aidy on Sw~.den- New York: United Nations.
Archer,K & Whitehorn,A (1992). "Opinion Structure Among Party Activists:A Comparison of New Democrats,Liberalsand Conservatives". In . * H, Thornburn (ed). Partv Pol I t~CS in Canada. Scarborough:Prentice-Hall. . . Arden, N (1970). Govermnt and Polit~csjn the Nordic Courttries. Stockholm: Almquist and Wiksell.
Arden, N (1970). " Partisan Motivations and Concern for System Legitimacy in the Scandinavian Deliberations on Public. . Subsidies". In H,Heidenheimer (ed). marative Polit3 cal Finance :The Fj -ofv Oru- and Eîection Camnaim. USA:D.C. Heath and Company.
Arscott, J (1995). \' A Job Well Begun. . .Repxesentation, Electoral Reform, and Women". In Fr Gingras(ed1 . Gende~ Polltlcs-. In Conterllnorai7/Canada . Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Arscott, 5 and Trimble (1997). "In the Presence of Women: Representation and Political Power". In J. Arscott and L-Trimble (eds).S - .Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Aucoin, P (1994). ' Prime Ministerial Leadership". In Mt Mancuso et al (eds). s- Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Bakvis , H (1994) . "Cabinet Ministers- Leaders of Followers" . In M, Mancuso et al (eds). -anddersbi? in Canada. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Ball, T and Dagger, R (1991). Idealses- A Reader. New York:Harper Collins. Bashevkin, S (1989). "Political Parties and the Representation of Womenw. In A, Gagnon and B, Tanguay (eds). -an Parties in Tra.slt1on. . - Discourse. on. Scarborough: Nelson Canada.
Bashevkin, S (1993). Toejga the unes- Women and Pxtv min. . Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Bashevkin, S (1994). "Building a Political Voice : Women' s Participation and Policy Influence in Canada". In BI Nelson and NI Chowdhury(eds) . Women and Politics. . Worldwide. New Haven: Yale University Press. . . Berglund, S (1980). paradoxes of Pol itical Parties : Rational Choice and Revong. Umea: Liber Laromedel Lund.
Brodie, J and Chandler, C (1991). " Women and the Electoral Process. . in Canada" . In K,Megyery (ed). Women in Canadian Pola tics- Toward Eauitv- in ReDresentatioq. Toronto : Dundurn Press.
Brodie, J and Jenson, J (1988). Cr~s~s., . Challenue and Cham. 0ttawa:Carleton University Press.
Brodie, J(1991). 'Tensions from Within: Regionalism and Party Politics in Canada". In H. Thornburn (ed). Party Po11t-. . Canada . Scarborough: Prentice-Hall.
Brodie, J (1994). Politj CS on the Boundaries : Restructurino gnd the Canadian Womenls Movemea. North York: Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies .
Brodie, J (1994). " Women and Political Leadership- A Case Study for Affirmative Action". In M, Mancuso et al (eds) .Jleaders hi^ in Cd.Toronto: Oxford University Press.
*. Brodie, J (1985). Homen andCin~~~dq . Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited. Brown, R (1989). gicPubiic~jfe. Toronto: Random House.
Burt, S (1986). " Women' s Issues and the Women's Movement in Canada Since 197O1I. In A,Cairns and C,Williams (eds). The Pop. . . . Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Burt, S (1995). " Rethinking Canadian Politics: The Impact of Gender" . In MIWhittington and G,Williams (eds). an Politrcs. . in the 1990's. Toronto: Nelson Canada.
Burt, S and Lorenzin, E (1997). " Taking the Women' s Movement to Queen's Park: Women's Interests and the New Democratic Party of OntarioW.In J,Arscott and L,Trimble (eds). In the Presence of Women - Rem-esentation Canadian Governments. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Co.
Bystydzienski, J (1995). Women in Electoral Polltics:. . Lessons f rom Noswav. Westport : Praeger.
Bystydzienski, J (1994). '' Norway: Achieving World- Record Women's Representation in Government". In J,Zirnmerman and W,Rule (eds). Electoral Systems in Comarat. ive . ?ersDect ive- Their Im~acton Women and Minorltles. Westport: Greenwood Press.
CACSW (1988). Backaround Pwer: Women in Politics. . - Becornino Full Me&ers in the Pol itical.O Process Ottawa: Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Wornen.
Campbell, R and Pal, L (1991). The Real Worlds of Canadian itics-Peterborough:.. Broadview Press.
Canada (1996). Canadian Wacand Dj rectorv. Toronto : Canadian Almanac and Directory Publishing Company Limited.
Canada (1991). Royal Commission on Electoral Refom and Party Financing. Refomu Ffectoral Democracv. Vol 1. Ottawa: Minister for Supply and Services. Canada (1970). Poval Coassion on the Status of Wom~n. Ottawa: Information Canada.
Carty, R.K (1991). Canadian Politzcal. . Parties in the tituu.Toronto: Dundurn Press.
Carty, R.K (1992). 'On the Road Again: The Slalled Omnibus Revisited" .In R. K Carty (eds1 . Canada an P&tical. . Paru - Re--Canada: Broadview Press.
Christian, W and Campbell, C (1989) . "Parties and Ideologies in Canadau .In A, . Gagnon . and BI Tanguay (eds) . Canadian Partj es in Trans~t~ on - Dj scoilyse. Orgaaizatj on. . Scarborough: Nelson Canada.
Clarke, H et al (1996). Absent -te - wadian Electoral . . n.Toronto: Gage Publishing .
Code, L (1993). "Feminist Theory". In S,Burt et al (eds). Changing Patterns- Women in Cana. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Cohen, M (1993) . "The Canadian Women' s Movement Documents" . In R, Pierson et al (eds). Canadian Women' s Issues- Yoices. Toronto: James Lorimer and Co.
Copps, S (1986). Nobodv's Babv. Toronto: Deneau Publishers & Company Ltd.
Corpus Almanac ( 1994 ) . Cornus Alwac & Canadj an Souvcehook. Don Mil1s:Southam Information Edition and Technology Group.
Delude, L (1988). " The Status of Women under the Mulroney Government" . In A, Gollner and Dl Salee (eds). canada Under Mulronev- An End.Montreal: Vehicule Press.
Denmark (1995). Women in De&. Copenhagen: Department of In£ormation O£ the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Aff airs. Dagre, T (1995). " Norwayfs Political Parties". Norway: Royal Norwegian Embassy.
Dahlerup, D and Gulli, B (1985). ' Women's Organizations in the Nordic Countries: Lack of Force or Couriterforce?". In E,Haavio- Mannila et al (eds). Unflnlshed. . Democracv: Women ig Nord i c polit^. . CS . Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Dahlerup, D (1987). ' Confusing concepts- confusing reality: a theoretical discussion of the patxiarchal state". In A,Sassoon (ed). Women _and the State. London: Unwin Hyman .
Dahlerup, D (1994). ' Learning to Live with the State: State, Market, and Civil Society: Women's Need for State Intervention in East and West". Wornen's Studies Snternational Fou. 17, 117- 123.
Dysart, S et al (1996). Wriers to Women's Partici~ation. . in parlj-.London: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
"Norway and Sweden" (1993) . ~conomist,U, 63.
Eduards, M (1981) . "Sweden" . In J, Lovenduski and J, Hills(eds1. The Politics6 6 of the Second Electorate - Women and Public Par- . . .London: Routedge and Kegan Paul.
Elder, N et al (1983). The Consensual Democracies- The Government and PoJbltlcs. , of Sc~dinavianStates. Britain: Oxford.
Ericksen, S (1988). "Norway". Çabinets in Western Euro~e. Hampshire: Macmillan.
Erickson, L (1991). " Women and Candidates for the House of Commons" . In K, Megyery (ed). Women in Canadian - Toronto: Dundurn Press.
Erickson, L (1993) \\ Making Her Way In: Women, parties and Candidacies in Canadau. In J, Lovenduski, and PI Norris (eds). werand Partv Putlcs. . . London: Sage Publications.
Errington, J (1993). \\ Pioneers and Suffragists" . In SI Burt et al (eds). Ch-tt-s - Women inCanada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Inc.
Ewing, K.D (1992). None-d 0. and,aW- A Cue studv- of Fi- Fi- Canada. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
"Federal child-care plan reported doomed" (1996, February 16). Globe and MaU.p.A7 ... Fife, R (1993). Kim Cam1: The Muna of a Pol3 t~cian. Toronto:Harper Collins.
Franks, C (1987). The Parliament of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. . . Frazer, E and Lacey,. . N (1993). The Pol 1 ti CS of Communitv- A -* -* - Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Friedan, B (1983). '\ Our Revolution is Unique". In MI Mahowald (ed).Wloso~hv of Women. Indiana : Hacket t Publishing Company.
Froman, I (1994 . "Sweden for Women" . Stockholm: The Swedish Institute.
Frye, M (1991). \' Oppressionw. In T, Bal1 and R, Dagger (eds). Wsand -01 oaiew : A Reader. New York: Harper Collins Publisher.
Galipeau, C (1989). '' *Political Parties, Interest Groups, and New Social Movements: Toward New Representation?". In A, Gagnon and B, Tanguay (eds). ition.. . Scarborough: Nelson Canada. . . . . Gelb, J (1989). msm.and Politics- A Coma-at~ ' ve pers~ective-Berkeley:University of California Press. Gotell, L and Brodie, J (1991). ' Women and Parties: More than an Issue of Nurnbers" . In H, Thornburn (ed). gavctv -. -. . . Scarborough: Prentice- Hall Canada.
Hedlund, G (1988). ' Womenrs Interests in Local Politics". In K,Jones and A, Jonasdottier (eds) . -cal . . aterests of Ge-. London: Sage Publications.
Hernes, H (1987). Yelfare State and WwPowex- Essays in State Fe- . . . Denmark: Universitsforlaget.
Hernes, H (1987). " Women and the Welfare State: the transition from private to public dependence". In A, Sasson(ed). Women and the State.London: Unwin Hyman.
Inter-parliamentary Union (1991). Women and Political. . Power- Survev Carri.& Out Amona the 150 Natj onal Parliaments stucr as of 31 October 1991. Geneva: IPU.
Jacobsson, R and Alfredsson, K (1993). - Status of Men and Women in Sweden. Stockholm: The Swedish Institute.
Kelber, M (1994). Nomen md Govexnment - New Wavs to Power.Westport: Praeger.
Klee, Gundren (1993) . -ce in mrth America and Western E-. Boulder: Westview Press.
Kome, P (1985). - 'an Women and Politics, . . Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited.
Kramarae, C and Treichler, P (1985). A Feminist. . Dictionam. London: Pandora Press.
Larsson, T (1994). ' Cabinet ministers and parliamentary government in Sweden".. . In M, Laver and K, Shepsle (eds . CabiniMinisteraovement . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Larsson, T (1988). ' Sweden". In J, Blondel and B,Muller- Rommel (eds). Cabjmets in Western Euru. Hampshire: Macmillan. Levine, A (1991). merd Democracv. Michigan: Out-of-Print Books on Demand.
Lewis, J and Astrom, G (1992). \' Equality, Difference, and State We1fare:Labor. . Market and Family Policies in Swedenu. Feminist Studjes . J& ,59- 87
Locke, J ( [1690]1980) . Second Treatise of Government. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company Inc.
Liberal Party of Canada (1993). 9 eral Plan for Canada. Ottawa: Liberal Party of Canada.
Lindstrom, Eric (1982). The Swedish P~1i.a~ent~Svstem. Stockho1m:The Swedish Institute. . . - Lovenduski, 5 (1986) . Women. and Eiirooean Pol itlcs Contemporary-d Pub1 i c Pol jcy . Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.
Maille, C (1990). ~Tirnedfor Power. Montreal: Simone de Beauvoir Institute.
Makin, K (1993, October). ' Voters Send 54 Women to Shake up Old Boy's Club- Visible Minorities, Aboriginals Gain More Seats" .Globe and Majl. p .A13.
Maroney, H and Luxton, M (1987). Trom Feminism and Political Economy toFeminist Political Economy". In HfMaroney and M, Luxton (eds) .Fern~. nurn * and Political* L J3conom-Women, Wsmenrpen s Sttades . Toronto: Methuen.
Matheson,R and Lang,P (1976). Women in the Camdian Mosaic. Toronto:Peter Martin and Associates Ltd.
Matland, R (1995) . ' How the Election System Structure has Helped Women Close the Representation Gap? In L,Karvonen and P,Selle(eds) . Women in Nordic Pohtics:. . Closba the Gap. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing.
The Reform Partv of Canada: New Beginaina or Dead End? In H-Thornburn (ed). partv olitics. . Jn* Caada. Scarborough: Prentice Hall
Meisel, J (1974). Cleavaoes. Parties and Values in Canada. London: Sage Publications.
Mill, H.T (1970) \\ Enfranchisement of Womenrr.In J.S Mill and H.T Mill(eds). Essavs on Sex Euualitv. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Myers, P (1989). "\A Noble Effortf: The National Federation of Liberal Women of Canada, 1928- 1973t1.In L, Kealey and J, Sangster(eds). . .Bevond the Vote- Canadian Women and Pol 7 t J,CS.Toronto : University of Toronto Press.
Norderval, I (1985). Party and Legislative Participation Among Scandinavian WornenM. In SI Bashevkin (ed). Women adPohtics . . in Western Euro~e.Britain: Frank Class.
Norge, N (1996 ) . "The Norwegian GovernmentM . Norway: Ministry of Foreign Af fairs.
Norge, N (1995). " Norway' s Political Partiesfr.Norway: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Norton, N (1995). \\ Women, It's Not Enough to Be Elected: Committee Position Makes a Difference". In G,Duerst- Lahti and R, Kelly (eds) . GenAer Power. Leadershj.~.and Çovernance. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.
Olsen, J (1983). Organi zed Democracv - Pol~t~cal. Tnsti tutions in a Weuase State - The Case of Norwav . Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.'
Pateman,C (1979).The Problem of Pohtxal. . Obliaation - A rit~cal0. Andvs~s of L beycal Theorv. Toronto: John Wiley and Sons.
Pateman, C (1989). . Britain: Polity Press.
Perlin, G (1991). "The Progressive Conservative Party: An Assessrnent of the Significance of Its Victories in the Elections of 1984 and 1988". In H, Thornburn (ed). . . Scarborough : Prentice- Hall Canada.
Perry, J (1987, May) . A Distressed Norway Counts on Its Women to Set Things Right". Wall Street Joura,p.Al
Pross, P (1992). Grow Politics. . and Public policv- . Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Raam, N (1995). \\ The Political Representation of Women: A Birdfs Eye View". In L,Karvonen and P, Selle (eds). . Dartmouth: Aldershot.
Rokkan, S (1970). Cit~. . xens. Elections, Parties . Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Sarlvik, B (1974 . "Scandinavia" . In R,Richard and B ,Sarlvik Ieds) . ive Han k. London: Collier MacMillan Publishers.
Sharpe, S (1994). T& GiUed Ghetto. Toronto: Harper Collins Publishers.
Siedle, FIL (1989). \\TheCanadian Electoral System and Proposals for its Reform" . In A, Gagnon and B, Tanguay (eds)._Canadian Parties Transition. . - Discourse. ixation. Re~resentatio~.Scarborough: Nelson Canada.
Sinkkonnen, S (19851 . ' Women in Local Politics" . In E, Haavio- Ma~ila(ed). Unflnished. . Democracv- Women in Vordic Politica. . . 0xford:Pergamon Press. Skard, T and Haavio- Mannila,E (1985). Mobilization of Women at Elections". In E, Haavio- Mamila et al (ed). c Pomlcs.. . Oxford: Pergarnon Press.
Skard, T and Haavio- Mannila, E (1995). \' Women in Parliament".. . In Haavio-Mannila, E et al (ed). . . ÇJ nl shed Democyacv - Women rn Nordic Politics . 0xford:Pergamon Press . Skjeie, H (1988) The . . xation of Power: Norwavrs . . F~WJ Political. Ex~erience. Oslo: Institute for Social Research.
Skjeie, H (1990). \'Rhetoric and Realities" . In MIKatzenstein and H,Skjeie (eds). sstoriesof W'sEnfranchisement-d Women's Part]. ca, nation v.0slo:Institute for Social Research.
Skjeie, H (1991). \\ The uneven advance of Norwegian women". Hew Left Review. 17, 79- 102
Skjeie, H (1991). \\ The Rhetoric of Difference:. . On Women's Inclusion into Political Elites". Politics & Societv. u,210-259.
Skjeie, H (1995). \\ Norwegian politics bridges the gender gap" .UNESCO Courjer. 2, 28-29.
Skjeie, H (1995). \' From Movement to Government: Womenrs Political Zntegration in Norway". In A, Brill (ed). A isinu. . Public Voice:Women in PoJi~s. . Worldwi de. New York: Feminist Press.
Stanbury, W.T (1991). Wonev in Politics. . - ~hanc&a Federal Partj es and Cana dates j n Canada. Toronto :Dundrun Press.
Strom, K (1994). " The Political role of Norwegian Cabinet MinistersU.In MI Laver and KI Shepsle (eds). Cabinet rv Goverm. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
Strom, K and Leipart, J (1989). \\ Ideology, Strategy and Party Competition in Postwar Norwaytl. Euronean Journal of Pol1. tical . Resear&, 17,263- 288.
Studlar, D and Matland, R (1994). \\TheGrowth of Wornenrs Representation in the Canadian House of Comrnons and the Election of 1984: A Reappraisal". Canadian Journal of Politlcal. . Science . XXvII, 53- 79.
Sundberg, J (1995). "Women in Scandinavian Party Organizations" . In LIKarvonen and P,Selle (eds). c Pol~tics:. . Closing thp Gag. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company.
St jernquist, N (1987). ' From Bicameralism to Unicameralism: The Democratic Riksdag, 1921- 1986". In Metcalf,M (ed). The Ri-q: - AJ$&tonr of the Swed-. New York: St Martin's Press.
Sweden (1994). Facts on Sweden. Sweden: The Swedish Institute .
Sweden (1995). Eacts on Sweden. Sweden: The Swedish Institute.
Sweden (1995). Sbared Power and Res~ons~bilitv.0.. Sweden: Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
Tong, R (1989). Feminist Thouuht- A Com~rehensive .San Francisco.
United Nations (1992). Women in Pol3. tics. and Dec~. sion. - -. -. Netherlands : Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Valen, H (1988). " Norway: Decentralization and Group Representation" . In Ml Gallagher & Ml Marsh (eds). Candidate Selection in CornDarative Pers~ective-The Secret Garden of Pol ltics.O . Great Britain: J.W. Arrowsmith Ltd.
Van der Ros, J (1994). "The State and Women: A Troubled Relationship in Norway". In B. Nelson and N. Chowdhury (eds). Women and Pol . tics . - World Wide . New Haven: Yale University Press.
Vickers, J (1997). " Toward a Feminist Understanding of Representation" . In JI Arscott and L, Trimble (eds). In ce of Women - Re~resentation- in Can&ian -ents. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Canada.
Vickers, J and Brodie, J (1981). "Canada". In J,Lovenduski and J,Hills,(eds). Tb@ Polltics. . of the Second Wearing, J (1988). Strained Rdations- Canadian Parties and Voters.Toronto: McCleIland & Stewart.
Westerberg, B (1994). Shared Power and Res~ons~.h~J.~tv.... Stockholm: Ministry of Social Affairs and Equality between Women and Men.
Wieslander, B and Rangnitt, H. .(1979).Government Financino o f Natj onal Elections. Po3 1 t~calParti es. and Camnaian Sgending in Various Foreian Countries . Washingt0n:Library of Congress.
Whitaker (1996). Whtakeers m.Britain: J. Whitakerts and Sons.
Wollstonecraft, M (1983). «A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" . In MIMahowald (ed). Phj losoohv of Woman. Indianna: Hackett Publishing Company.
Young, L (1994). Electoral Svstems and Renreçentatj.ve Leoislatures :Considerat ion of A1 ternative Svstems . Ottawa: Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women .
Young, L (1991). "Legislative Turnover and the Election of Women to the Canadian House . of. Commons". In KI Megyery (ed). ttv- W in Re~resent.atio~.Toronto : Dundurn Press .
II. Primary References
Authorrs interview with Olla Christensen, Halifax, Sept 5, 1996.
Author's interview with Mary Clancy, Halifax, July 4, 1996.
Author' s interview with Francine Cosman, Halifax, July 11, 1996 . Author's interview with Deborah Grey, Halifax, July 10, 1996.
Author's interview with Sungee Jon, Windsor, July 20, 1996.
Author's interview with Lisette Lindahl- Owens, Ottawa, September 20, 1996.
Author's interview with Katherine MacDonald, Halifax, July 4,1996.
Author's interview with Maria Minna, Toronto, July 24, 1996.
Author' s interwiew with Kaj Nielsen, Halifax, October 10, 1996.
Author's interview with Eleonor Norrie, Halifax, July 10, 1996.
Author's interview with Eileen O'Connell, Halifax, July 9, 1996.
Author's interview with Judy Rebick, Toronto, July 24, 1996.
Author's interview with Kathy Reynolds, Ottawa, July 17, 1996.
Authorrs interview with Car1 Salicath, Ottawa, July 16, 1996.
Author's interview with Debi Forsyth-Smith, Halifax, July 2, 1996. APPLIED A IMAGE. lnc
O 1993. Appli6d Image. le.All Righîs Reserved