Civic Engagement and MP Gender Identity

• In Event: Political Engagement in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Research shows that women are less likely to engage politically than men. They show lower levels of interest in politics and knowledge of politics, and are less likely to vote and attend political demonstrations (Global Barometer, National Citizen Engagement Study.) Studies also suggest that greater representation of women in parliament may lead to higher levels of civic engagement (Norris 2009.) This paper delves further, exploring how the gender of MPs conducting civic engagement activities shapes parliamentary civic engagement. It examines the effect of MP gender on how often MPs engage, the topics on which they engage, and the nature of their interactions with citizens during engagement events. It draws on a series of focus groups with 15 MPs and parliamentary staffers (from Trinidad and Tobago, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Sweden, Montenegro, Mali, Mauritania, Colombia, Peru, and Sierra Leone), a focus group with female citizens who have engaged with parliament (from Bangladesh, Mongolia, and the UK), and in depth interviews with 38 female identifying MPs and 38 male identifying MPs (representing 55 countries with differing levels of wealth, democratic development and women's rights legislation.) The data is drawn from a large body of research conducted to support the forthcoming 2022 Global Parliamentary Report on parliaments and public engagement, a joint project of the United Nations Development Program and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
It argues that female MPs may be less likely to engage than their male colleagues, as a result of systemic violence. When women MPs do engage, they may be more likely than their male colleagues to create engagement initiatives that address issues affecting only or predominantly women and girls. Engagement events led by female MPs may elicit different kinds of interactions with female citizens in attendance.
This research has important implications as the global community thinks about ways to create equitable civic engagement.

Author

• Maya Kornberg, NYU Brennan Center for Justice