Left–Right–Left? The March of Female Representatives into European Parliaments and the Role of Leftist Party Affiliations

Abstract

In general, factors influencing the level of female representation have been grouped into three broad areas – cultural/historical, socio-economic, and institutional (Matland, 1998). Of those subsumed under the institutional category, one factor has been cited repeatedly as being of particular significance in the success of women as a political representative, i.e., the role played by political parties as gatekeepers to parliamentary access (Rule, 2000; Norris, 1997; Lovenduski, 1993; Duverger, 1955; Christmas & Kjaer, forthcoming).

Citation

Christmas-Best, V. (2006), "Left–Right–Left? The March of Female Representatives into European Parliaments and the Role of Leftist Party Affiliations", Engelstad, F. and Gulbrandsen, T. (Ed.) Comparative Studies of Social and Political Elites (Comparative Social Research, Vol. 23), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 13-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-6310(06)23002-3