Abstract
Women are continuing to make in-roads into male-dominated political institutions around the world (Krook, 2009). The now substantial scholarly literature which examines these dynamics and patterns has come to be known collectively as research on the ‘féminisation of polities’. This term is used to describe and assess the extent to which women have both entered and altered historically male-dominated political institutions (Lovenduski, 2005; Wangnerud, 2009). Much of the literature has focused on political parties (Lovenduski, 2005: 57). This chapter makes a unique contribution to féminisation scholarship by paying attention to the neglected issue of the gendered distribution of parliamentary offices, specifically the Speakership. Through a cross-national comparison of the first female Speakers in the United Kingdom, India and South Africa, we shift the focus away from what happens before and during elections to what happens immediately after. The chapter complements the growing literature on female ministerial and bureaucratic leadership with much-needed research on female legislative leadership. It builds on cross-national research that explores the challenges and opportunities facing women in elected office and analyses how windows of opportunity arise and are exploited by non-traditional political actors (cf. Kittilson, 2006). It adds to our understandings of the dynamics of female political leadership (cf. Norris, 2010; Steinberg, 2008).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aimitage, F. 2012. ‘From Elite Control to Democratic Competition: Procedural Reform and Cultural Change in UK House of Commons Speakership Elections’, British Politics, 7 (2): 135–162.
Armitage, F. and Spary, C. 2010. ‘Selecting the Speaker: Ritual and Power in the British and Indian Parliaments’, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, 2–5 September 2010, Washington D.C.
Bach, S. 1999. “The Office of Speaker in Comparative Perspective’, The Journal of Legislative Studies, 5 (3-4): 209–254.
Boothroyd, B. 2000. Madam Speaker: The Autobiography. London: Anow.
Britton, H. 2005. Women in the South African Parliament: From Resistance to Governance. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Calland, R. 1999. The First Five Years: A Review of South Africa’s First Democratic Parliament. Cape Town: Idasa.
Chandra, K. 2007. Why Ethnic Parties Succeed: Patronage and Ethnic Head Counts in India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Childs, S. and Krook, M.L. 2009. ‘Analysing Women’s Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors’, Government and Opposition, 44(2): 125–145.
Feinstein, A. 2008. The End of the Party. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball.
Garman, A. 1999. ‘Frene Ginwala’, in They Shaped Our Century: The Most Influential South Africans of the Twentieth Century. Cape Town: Human and Rousseau.
Geisler, G. 2000. ‘Parliament Is Another Tenain of Struggle: Women, Men and Politics in South Africa’, The Journal of Modern African Studies, 38(4): 605–630.
Govender, P. 2007. Love and Courage: A Story of Insubordination. Auckland Park, South Africa: Jacana.
Hassim, S. 2006. Women’s Organizations and Democracy in South Africa: Contesting Authority. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
House of Commons (HC) Debates. 1997. Session 1996–1997. 18 March. Available online: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cml99697/cmhansrd/ vo970318/debindx/70318-x.htm.
House of Commons (HC) Debates. 2000. Session 1999–2000. 26 July. Available online: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cml99900/cmhansrd/ vo000726/debindx/00726-x.htm.
INC. (2009) Lok Sabha elections. 2009. Manifesto of the Indian National Congress. Available at http://www.aicc.org.in/new/manifesto09-eng.pdf.
IPU. 2012. ‘New Delhi Initiative for Gender-Sensitive Parliaments’, Inter-Parliamentary Union, http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/wmnspkl2/outcome.pdf.
Jewell, M.E. and Whicker, M.L. 1994. Legislative Leadership in the American States. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Joubert, L.K. 2009. “The Origin and Development of the Office of Speaker in South Africa: A Legal Historical Study’, Phd. Diss. Almeda University.
Kenney, S. 2013. Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter. New York: Routledge.
Kittilson, M.C. 2006. Challenging Parties, Changing Parliaments: Women and Elected Office in Contemporary Western Europe. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Rrook, M.L. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kumar, M. 2009. ‘Address by the Hon. Speaker, Smt. Meira Kumar on the Floor of the House after Her Election as the Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha, New Delhi, 3 June 2009’, English translation available online: http://speakerloksabha.nic.in/speech/SpeechDetails.asp?SpeechId=324.
Laundy, P. 1984. The Office of Speaker in the Parliaments of the Commonwealth. Michigan: Quiller.
Lok Sabha (LS) Debates. 2009. ‘Election of the Speaker’, Lok Sabha Debates, Fifteenth Series Vol. 1 No. 3, 3 June 2009: 2–44, New Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Lok Sabha Secretariat. 2013. Circular No. 27933, 27 February 2013, Lok Sabha Secretariat (Complaints Committee Cell).
Lovenduski, J. 2005. Feminizing Politics. Cambridge: Polity.
McBlain, L. 1994. ‘The Speaker Speaks Her Mind’, RSA Review, 7 (5): 26–32.
National Assembly (NA) Debates. 1995. Second Session, First Parliament Vol. 5, 4 May, Cape Town.
National Assembly (NA) Proceedings. 2009. First Session, Fourth Parliament, 6 May, Cape Town. Available online: http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/ content.php?Category_ID=119&fYear=2009&fMonth=5.
Nonis, P. 2010. ‘Forward: Women National Leaders Worldwide: Barriers and Opportunities’, in R. Munay (ed.) Women, Gender and Politics: A Reader. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio.
Office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. 2013. ‘Rules and Directions Governing Business in Lok Sabha Made Gender-Neutral’, 6 February 2014, New Delhi. Available online: http://speakerloksabha.nic.in/pressrelease/ PressreleaseDetails.asp?PressId=1281&button=Edit.
Puwar, N. 2004. Space Invaders: Race, Gender and Bodies Out of Place. London: Berg.
Russell, M. 2005. Building New Labour: The Politics of Party Organisation. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Routledge, P. 2000. Madam Speaker: The Life of Betty Boothroyd. London: Politicos.
Spary C. 2007. ‘Female Political Leadership in India’, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 45 (3): 253.
Spary, C. 2010. ‘Disrupting Rituals of Debate in the Indian Parliament’, Journal of Legisla tiveS tudies, 16 (33-4): 3 38–3 51.
Steinberg, B. 2008. Women in Power: The Personalities and Leadership Styles of Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Mar garet Thatcher. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Uys, P. 1995. Funigalore: Evita’s Real-life Adventures in Wonderland. London: Penguin Books.
Wangnerud, L. 2009. ‘Women in Parliaments: Descriptive and Substantive Representation’, Annual Review of Political Science, 12(1): 51–69.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Faith Armitage, Rachel E. Johnson and Carole Spary
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Armitage, F., Johnson, R.E., Spary, C. (2014). The Emergence and Impact of First Female Speakers in the UK, South Africa and India. In: Rai, S.M., Johnson, R.E. (eds) Democracy in Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137361912_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137361912_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-47244-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-36191-2
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political Science CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)