Reforming Representation
Making Political Institutions Work for Women
How institutional reforms can shape what legislators say and do in response to the concerns of women and other marginalized groups.
Politicians shape women’s everyday lives in significant ways. Yet in elected legislatures, party discipline can sideline politicians’ efforts to respond to women’s concerns, limiting meaningful representation. Institutional design, however, can be refined to improve politicians’ responsiveness. Using the distinctive case of the Canadian Senate, Reforming Representation shows how changes to legislative rules can reshape behaviour, enabling more effective advocacy for women’s interests.
Engaging a feminist institutionalist lens, Elizabeth McCallion examines representation in an environment with low party discipline, asking whether legislators there are freer to respond to women’s interests. In 2015, the Senate changed its appointment process from a partisan system to a merit-based selection process, leading to an influx of independent senators. Freed from party discipline and electoral pressures, senators – whether novice or experienced – exercised greater autonomy, and many showed increased responsiveness to women and other marginalized groups whose preferences are often overshadowed by majority rule in the House of Commons. Through revealing interviews and a rich analysis of committee discourse and amendment behaviour, McCallion demonstrates how changes to institutional rules can make legislators more willing – and more able – to represent women’s interests.
Reforming Representation challenges the idea that institutions are static. The book offers a clear and compelling argument that institutions can be intentionally redesigned to make political systems more responsive to civil society.
“While there are other studies of women in the Senate, none match the scope, methodological range, or theoretical depth of Reforming Representation.” Jeanette Ashe, author of Political Candidate Selection: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Under-Representation in the UK
“An essential read for scholars and students of Canadian politics, Reforming Representation speaks to wider questions of institutional design and good representation, demonstrating possibilities for parliamentary feminization.” Sarah Childs, University of Edinburgh
“A wonderful book that advances our understanding of women and governance, Reforming Representation provides a fresh perspective on the Canadian Senate, drawing from novel questions and data.” Emmett Macfarlane, author of Constitutional Pariah: Reference re Senate Reform and the Future of Parliament