Numbers and Newness
The Descriptive and Substantive Representation of Women
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6238948 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Karen Beckwith (0000-0002-7710-3302, Case Western Reserve University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-49 |
| Publication date | 2007-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-4239 • E-ISSN: 1744-9324 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0008423907070059 |
| OpenAlex | W2122117101 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 97 |
| References cited | 26 |
The concept of “critical mass,” drawn from physics and organizational behaviour literatures, has been employed by women and politics scholars as a potential theoretical underpinning for explaining and predicting women's substantive representation in national legislatures. This article examines two number-based theories of women's substantive representation—critical mass theory and sex-ratio proportional theory—and assesses their theoretical utility. It then proposes the alternative of focusing on the impact of newness, or a substantial increase in the number and proportion of women elected for the first time, on women's substantive representation. The article identifies research design issues and discusses the intersection of “newness” and “numbers” for evaluating women's substantive representation in parliaments. Offering a range of hypotheses for testing, it concludes by identifying an irony for critical mass research and by underscoring the necessarily gendered nature of the newness-numbers intersection.Résumé.Le concept de “ masse critique ” issu de la physique et de la recherche en comportement organisationnel a été utilisé par les spécialistes du rapport femmes et politique comme modèle théorique possible pour expliquer et prédire la représentation substantive des femmes dans les législatures nationales. Cet article se propose d'examiner deux théories quantitatives de la représentation substantive des femmes et d'évaluer leur utilité théorique : 1. la théorie de la masse critique et 2. la théorie proportionnelle du sex ratio, et propose un autre modèle basé sur l'incidence de la nouveauté, ou une augmentation sensible dans le nombre et les proportions de femmes élues pour la première fois, sur la représentation substantive des femmes. L'article se penche sur les questions de méthodologie de la recherche et analyse l'intérêt du point d'intersection “ nouveauté ” et “ chiffres ” pour l'évaluation de la représentation substantive des femmes dans les parlements. À partir d'un choix d'hypothèses permettant d'évaluer ces modèles, l'article conclut en identifiant une ironie en ce qui concerne la recherche de masse critique et en soulignant le fait que la nature du point d'intersection nouveauté/chiffres est forcément marquée par le genre
Critical mass (sociodynamics · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Social science · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Law
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| Unique citing works | 97 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,11 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2026 (20) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 97 |