INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from aity type o f computer printer. The quality of this reproductionis dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one «qjosure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Iiifonnation Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 GENDER RELATIONS AND SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY TRANSFORMATION: THE CASE OF WOMEN IN THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Abigail Lee Halcli, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1996 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor J. Craig Jenkins Professor Verta Taylor iser Professor Patricia Craig of Sociology UMI Number: 9710573 UMI Microform 9710573 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeh Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Abigail Lee Halcli 1996 ABSTRACT The resurgence of women’s activism in the British Labour Party since the late I970’s has increased pressure on the party leadership to address issues of female representation and to place greater emphasis on a variety of "women’s issues." The increased focus on gender issues has been facilitated by changing environmental conditions that created pressures for the Labour leadership to reevaluate party organization and programmatic appeals. In this research I examine the relationship between women’s mobilization in parties and social democratic party transformation through interviews with Labour Party elites and activists and officials from key women’s movement organizations, and supplemented with documentary materials and other published accounts of the activities of the Labour Party and women’s movement organizations. The objectives of this research are twofold. First, this research contributes to the study of gender and politics. Through an analysis of women politicians and activists in the Labour Party, I show how women’s participation in political parties is linked to the opportunity structures afforded by parties. Specifically, I show how organizational and strategic changes in the Labour Party created spaces for women to mobilize and demand reforms. In addition, I discuss how political parties and other political institutions, including the British Parliament, operate as gendered 11 organizations, and how this shapes the opportunities and experiences of women in the Labour Party. Second, I add to the research on political parties by analyzing social democratic party transformation through the case of the British Labour Party. I consider explanations that highlight the influences of environmental changes on social democratic party transformation, including the proportionate decline in the size of the working class and the rise of postmaterialist values and new political challengers in the form of social movements and political parties. While recognizing the significance of changing environmental conditions in setting the context for party transformation, I emphasize the necessity of analyzing the internal life of political parties, including organizational structure, intraparty coalitions, and links with other organizations, to understand how parties respond to environmental changes. Ill To my parents, Marie and Albert IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express great appreciation to Craig Jenkins for his insights and encouragement throughout all stages of this research. He has been an enthusiastic and supportive adviser. I also thank the other members of my dissertation committee, Verta Taylor and Patricia Craig, for their helpful suggestions and comments. Jo Reger has been instrumental in helping me to develop the ideas for this research, and her influence is especially apparent in Chapter Six which draws from our co-authored publication comparing women politicians in Britain and the United States. Kim Dill, Jacqueline Keil, Murray Low, Gail McGuire, Jan Solari, and Marieke Van Willigen also deserve special thanks for reading sections of the dissertation, suggesting useful ideas and directions, or offering their editing services. I am also grateful to Dick Haller and Joan Amfield in the Department of Sociology Computer Lab for all the help they have given me over the years on a variety of data issues. I am deeply grateful to the women and men in Britain who I interviewed for this research. They were extremely generous with both their time and their insight, and this research would not have been possible without their cooperation. The staff at the Fawcett Library and the Feminist Library and Information Centre in London, England, and the Equal Opportunities Commission Library in Manchester, England offered their cheerful help in tracking down documents and sources. Becky Ice and Andy Wood extended me their warm hospitality while I was doing research in Sheffield and Manchester. I wish to thank Kim Dill, Jacqueline Keil, and Marieke Van Willigen for constantly reminding me to relax and have some fun. Finally, I thank Murray Low for his intellectual and emotional support throughout all stages of this research project. Hours of trans-Atlantic phone conversations with Murray have helped me to develop the ideas for this research. I deeply appreciate his cheerfulness and patience as 1 have worked toward completion of this dissertation, and I look forward to our reunion. VI VITA April 22,1967 .................................................. Bora - Escanaba, Michigan 1989................................................................. B.A., Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois 1989 - 1996.................................................... Graduate Teaching and Research Associate, The Ohio State University 1991...................................................................M.A., The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS 1. Halcli, Abigail and Jo Reger. 1996. "Strangers in a Strange Land: The Gendered Experiences of Women Politicians in Britain and the United States. Pp. 457- 471 in Feminist Frontiers, 4th edition. Edited by Laurel Richardson, Verta Taylor, and Nancy Whittier. New York: McGraw-Hill. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Fields: Sociology Studies in: Political Sociology, Gender V ll TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication....................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... v V ita.................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables...................................................................................................................... x Chapters; I. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 The Development and Transformation of Social Democratic Parties..........................................................................................................4 Gender and Political Parties.................................................................................. 9 Women in the Labour Party.................................................................................13 Chapter Outline .................................................................................................. 17 II. Data and Methods ..................................................................................................19 The D ata ................................................................................................................20 Data Analysis........................................................................................................26 Summary and Limitations....................................................................................28 III. Social Democratic Party Transformation: The Case of the British Labour Party................................................................................. 30 The Changing British Party System and Labour’s Electoral C risis......................................................................... 31 Environmental Conditions ....................................................................................38