This session of the Gender Working Group features a presentation by Mona Morgan-Collins, Assistant Professor in Gender and Political Economy at King’s College London
Did women's suffrage play any role in the adoption of proportional systems (PR)? Extant literature uncovers how electoral, economic and party threats generated by the expansion of men's suffrage fostered the spread of PR at the turn of the 20th century. However, neither account considers the role of women's suffrage. This analytical invisibility of women's suffrage is striking, especially given that PR was typically adopted at the same time or shortly after women's suffrage.
We argue that politicians' support for PR at the turn of the 20th century was, at least in part, a strategic response to the electoral influence of women's votes in single-member districts. Newly enfranchised women were distinct voters. When they voted in large numbers, incumbents' electoral fortunes became less certain and bound by responsiveness to women's demands. PR enabled politicians to contain the influence of women voters by moving competition away from individual-district level to the party-national level.
Using the case of Norway, we provide evidence that supports our argument in three steps: (i) women's votes caused a significant electoral and policy disruption , (ii) the strength of women's votes predicts politicians' probability to support PR and (iii) PR adoption mitigated electoral and policy influence of women voters.
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