Abstract
Ethnic minority women tend to be better represented in parliaments than ethnic minority men. What does this mean for their substantive representation? This article makes use of intersectional analysis to study how the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation differs within and between gender and ethnic groups. Drawing on written parliamentary questions and the committee memberships of MPs in seven parliamentary sessions (1995-2012) in the Netherlands, a strong link is found between descriptive and substantive representation. Female ethnic minority MPs more often sit on committees and table questions that address ethnic minority women's interests than male ethnic minority and female ethnic majority MPs. The link, however, is fragile as it is based on a small number of active MPs. This demonstrates the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how representation works in increasingly diverse parliaments, which cannot be captured by focusing on gender or ethnicity alone.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 705-727 |
| Journal | West European Politics |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Jun 2019 |
Keywords
- Intersectionality
- minorities
- parliamentary questions
- substantive representation
- descriptive representation
Cite this
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Representing their own? Ethnic minority women in the Dutch Parliament. / Mugge, Liza M.; van der Pas, Daphne J.; van de Wardt, Marc.
In: West European Politics, Vol. 42, No. 4, 07.06.2019, p. 705-727.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Representing their own? Ethnic minority women in the Dutch Parliament
AU - Mugge, Liza M.
AU - van der Pas, Daphne J.
AU - van de Wardt, Marc
PY - 2019/6/7
Y1 - 2019/6/7
N2 - Ethnic minority women tend to be better represented in parliaments than ethnic minority men. What does this mean for their substantive representation? This article makes use of intersectional analysis to study how the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation differs within and between gender and ethnic groups. Drawing on written parliamentary questions and the committee memberships of MPs in seven parliamentary sessions (1995-2012) in the Netherlands, a strong link is found between descriptive and substantive representation. Female ethnic minority MPs more often sit on committees and table questions that address ethnic minority women's interests than male ethnic minority and female ethnic majority MPs. The link, however, is fragile as it is based on a small number of active MPs. This demonstrates the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how representation works in increasingly diverse parliaments, which cannot be captured by focusing on gender or ethnicity alone.
AB - Ethnic minority women tend to be better represented in parliaments than ethnic minority men. What does this mean for their substantive representation? This article makes use of intersectional analysis to study how the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation differs within and between gender and ethnic groups. Drawing on written parliamentary questions and the committee memberships of MPs in seven parliamentary sessions (1995-2012) in the Netherlands, a strong link is found between descriptive and substantive representation. Female ethnic minority MPs more often sit on committees and table questions that address ethnic minority women's interests than male ethnic minority and female ethnic majority MPs. The link, however, is fragile as it is based on a small number of active MPs. This demonstrates the importance of an intersectional approach to understanding how representation works in increasingly diverse parliaments, which cannot be captured by focusing on gender or ethnicity alone.
KW - Intersectionality
KW - minorities
KW - parliamentary questions
KW - substantive representation
KW - descriptive representation
U2 - 10.1080/01402382.2019.1573036
DO - 10.1080/01402382.2019.1573036
M3 - Article
VL - 42
SP - 705
EP - 727
JO - West European Politics
JF - West European Politics
SN - 0140-2382
IS - 4
ER -