Ending Interjections? The Impact of a Higher Proportion of Women in Canadian Legislatures
Date
2019-04-27
Authors
McMillan, Rachel
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Abstract
Despite the drama it brings to oft mundane proceedings, heckling is despised by both politicians and the Canadian public. Is it possible that increasing the number of women in politics could change this aspect of our political culture? This project draws on two bodies of literature that would answer this question in opposite ways. The first, critical mass theory, argues that women will be better suited to effect change as they become a larger minority in politics. The second, backlash theory, argues that women will be subject to increased resistance from men and thus less able to effect change as they grow to constitute a larger minority. A quantitative analysis of heckling during Question Period in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, and the federal House of Commons suggests that critical mass theory is more applicable in the Canadian context. Further, this analysis suggests women experience heckling in unique ways. Overall levels of heckling are highest in the legislature with the fewest women, and women are the targets of heckling most often in the legislature with the fewest women.
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Keywords
Heckling, Canadian politics, Representation, Gender, Critical Mass