Gendered Political Opportunities? Elite Alliances, Electoral Cleavages, and Activity Choice Among Women's Groups in the UK, France, and Germany

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the impact of political opportunity structures (POS) on the activity choices of women's groups in the UK, France, and Germany in order to determine whether political opportunities, specifically elite alliances and changes in electoral cleavages, are gendered. We ask how/whether various institutional structures impact the activity choices of women's groups, gauging whether women react to opportunities in a similar manner as other social groups, namely environmental groups. We find that social democratic elite allies and electoral cleavages prompted by de-alignment influence activity choice among women's groups in a similar manner as among environmental groups, yet the data show that women's groups are disenfranchised from direct contact with policymaking elites through consultation, thus suggesting the presence of gendered POS. Keywords: Women's groupsopportunity structuresgenderactivity choice Notes 1. We follow procedures used in studies of environmental groups (Poloni-Staudinger, Citation2008, Citation2009). 2. Reingold (2000, p. 166) explains that women's issues 'are about women' and more greatly affect women than men. Examples include the fight against gender violence, improvements in reproductive health, and policies for work-life balance. Feminists also fight for these issues, yet they implicate patriarchy and attempt to dismantle it. 3. Dow Jones Factiva is a subscription library database that 'provides access to the Dow Jones and Reuters newswires, The Wall Street Journal and over 8,000 other sources' (2009). The database includes English language and foreign language newswires. 4. Banaszak (Citation1996, pp. 29–31) also discusses the impact of decision-making procedures, federalism, unity of elites/number of political parties, political allies, formal rules, and institutions. 5. A group was included as a women's group if in its mission statement it indicated a focus on women's issues (in any way) or if membership was exclusive to women by the nature of their sex. Thus, a group did not have to take up the mantle of a feminist agenda to be included in this study (see discussion above for distinction between types of women's groups). It merely had to focus on women or restrict membership to women to be included. Some groups, such as women's trusts in the UK, were included in both the women's group study presented here and in earlier studies on environmental groups. 6. For Germany, we use vote indication for any communist party. 7. Data for the UK came from the Party Manifesto website available at: http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/uktable.htm and from data tables in The British Polity. Data for France and Germany were drawn from www.electionresources.org and from data tables in The French Polity and The German Polity. 8. The Mannheim Eurobarometer Trend File, 1970–1999 (ICPSR number 3384) provided data for the years 1980 through 1995 (for de-alignment) and 1980 through 1998 (for left pressure). Data for the years 1995–2004 and 1998–2004 were drawn from the yearly Eurobarometer surveys. 9. Green parties often take up the mantle of women's rights, thus their pressure on the traditional left may influence group activity. A 'communist pressure' variable did not add to the model beyond the earlier discussed measure of communist support. 10. 'International' groups that did not have a home country, yet operating in all three countries undertook the remaining 3% of activities. 11. The Left was in power in the UK 30% of the time under study, in France 58% of the time under study, and in Germany 25% of the time under study. 12. Note that due to the electoral formula in the UK, this part of the analysis implicitly drops the UK by default. 13. Note that it is possible that a few well-resourced women's groups, invited into consultation, can have a large impact on policy even though they may participate in low numbers of consultative acts. Although we acknowledge this possibility, the extremely low levels of consultation relative to other acts (those same well-resourced groups also could more likely engage in other activities) and as compared to environmental groups cause us to believe that this is not the case. In reading the wires in which consultative activity is indicated, it also becomes clear that women's groups have less of a policy impact and are invited into consultation less often than other social groups.