Katrine Beauregard | The Australian National University (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Katrine Beauregard

Pre-election day voting increases the opportunities for citizens to vote in an election. This pap... more Pre-election day voting increases the opportunities for citizens to vote in an election. This paper asks who votes before election day in Australia and whether early voters and election day voters decide their vote differently. In Australia's compulsory voting system early voting lowers the costs of voting for citizens who would otherwise be compelled to vote on a prescribed day. We may therefore expect that in a compulsory system, early voting has the effect of bringing forward some voter turnout, while aggregate turnout is unaffected. Using 2016 Australian Election Study data, we find that early voters do not appear to suffer time constraints distinguishing them from election day voters: they are no more likely to have caring responsibilities nor to work in time-inflexible occupations. Early voters tend to be older than election day voters, and are more likely to strongly dislike the leader of their non-preferred party. However, feelings towards the parties generally and the state of the economy are not related to early voting. This research suggests that of expanding the voting period in compulsory systems provides greater voter convenience but reduces the capacity of campaign promises and events to affect vote choice.

The percentage of women elected in the Australian Parliament is comparatively low. This poor trac... more The percentage of women elected in the Australian Parliament is comparatively low. This poor track record has generated debate within political parties about the necessity of gender quotas (or targets) to increase women's representation. Using the 2016 Australian Election Study, this paper proposes to test support for different measures aiming to increasing women's representation in Australian politics. More specifically, I investigate the role of partisanship in explaining gender differences in support for gender quotas. I find that differences in support for quotas are greater among women, and among men, than between women and men. The paper also demonstrates that the role of political values in explaining differences in support for gender quotas is non-uniform. Indeed, attitudes towards government intervention, minority rights, and gender equality are more crucial in explaining differences in support for legislative quotas among men than among women.

This paper proposes to investigate the influence of legislative quotas on gender differences in p... more This paper proposes to investigate the influence of legislative quotas on gender differences in political participation by analyzing the within- and across-country effects of quotas. Gender quotas can signal to women that their presence in politics is welcome, leading to a subsequent increase in their involvement in political activities. This change in political behavior should not be reproduced in men; thus, when gender quotas are present, the gap between men’s and women’s participation narrows. Using the European Values Survey and data from eighteen European democracies, this paper demonstrates that this indeed occurs for some political activities when gender gaps are compared before and after the introduction of quotas within countries. This result, however, is not replicated for across-country analyses. European countries without legislative gender quotas tend to have smaller gender gaps than countries with them. This result is explained by referring to the context of the adoption of gender quotas.

This analysis challenges the notion that women's representation does not influence gender gaps in... more This analysis challenges the notion that women's representation does not influence gender gaps in political participation in crossnational studies by arguing that women's representation should be measured differently. Using the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, the paper demonstrates that long-term effects of women's representation are more important than short-term measures in understanding gender gaps in a variety of political activities. The length of time since women have gained access to the political system explains gender gaps to a greater extent than the presence of women in the legislature and cabinet at one point in time. Additionally, when women's representation is measured by the presence of women politicians in cabinet, findings show that the conclusions of previous work on women's representation and political behavior may not extend beyond the US case. Finally, this study demonstrates that the type of political activities matter when analyzing the effect of women's representation.

In Canada, research has found few differences in levels of political participation between Franco... more In Canada, research has found few differences in levels of political participation between Francophones and Anglophones despite traditional differences in resources leading to participation. This study argues that it is when gender is considered alongside language that differences emerge. Differences in conditions between Francophone and Anglophone women may mean that the explanations for the gender gaps differ. Findings show that Francophone women in Québec have lower levels of political participation than Anglophone women and men across Canada. These gender gaps are small but significant. Differences in resources and involvement in voluntary associations help account for Québec Francophone women's lower participation. Additionally, these results indicate that the different political context and the different political influence of the women's movement in Québec matter in determining explanations for gender gaps in political participation.

This article investigates whether the smaller gender gaps in political engagement, found in more ... more This article investigates whether the smaller gender gaps in political engagement, found in more proportional electoral systems, translate into smaller gender differences in political participation. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, it presents the argument that more proportional systems may send signals that multiple interests are included in the policy-making process, which may increase women's levels of political participation and thereby reduce gender gaps. Additionally, the article tests for the possibility that a greater number of political parties and the elected representatives they provide act as barriers to political participation that have a greater impact on women's levels of participation than men's. It is argued that women's lower levels of political resources and engagement might create more difficult barriers for them than for men. Results lend little support for the first hypothesis, but a greater confirmation for the second.

Book Reviews by Katrine Beauregard

Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer set out, in their vast study, to provide an additional explanation f... more Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer set out, in their vast study, to provide an additional explanation for a phenomenon that has been evident in the literature on political behaviours: there are gender differences in political engagement and participation. They argue that electoral institutions, such as electoral rules, and the consequences of the electoral system can promote political inclusion which affects men's and women's political behaviours differently. More inclusive electoral rules may provide incentives for citizens, and especially female citizens, to become involved in the political process. Electoral institutions can also act as symbols that may draw citizens into the political process. Since women have long been marginalized in the political system, " women may be more receptive to these signals of inclusion than men who have not historically been politically excluded or socially marginalized " (15). Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer identify proportional representation, high district magnitude and gender quotas as inclusive electoral rules that may influence positively and in greater proportions women's level of political engagement and participation. Furthermore, they argue that electoral rules can have an indirect effect on women's political involvement through the proportionality of the translation of votes into seats, the contours of the party system they produce and the level of women's representation they generate. A better translation of votes into seats, the presence of a greater number of political parties competing in elections and the presence of a high number of women in the legislature should send a signal to women in the electorate that the political system is inclusive and open to the presence of women. Thus, gender differences in political engagement and participation should be smaller when the electoral institutions are more inclusive. Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer find that, indeed, the proportionality of the electoral system is consistently associated with smaller gender gaps. The presence of gender quotas also has an important effect on gender differences in political engagement and participation. An important contribution of Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer's analysis is the combination of a large cross-national investigation with case studies. Cross-national analyses are lacking from the literature on gender gaps in political engagement and participation, especially since there is evidence that gaps tend vary across countries. Moreover, the presence of these variations in gender differences in political engagement and participation indicates that political institutions are an overlooked explanation for this phenomenon. Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer's work contributes to remedying this hole in the literature. The authors also complete their analysis with case study investigations of the effects of electoral reform in New Zealand and Russia and the effects of gender quotas in France and Uruguay. These case studies allow Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer to examine over time the mechanisms that relate electoral institutions to gender gaps in political engagement and participation. This combination of large a cross-national analysis with case studies reinforces the authors' theoretical claims about the role of electoral institutions in explaining gaps in engagement and participation. It allows for a more convincing argument that address the problem of causality that arises when studying political institutions. For instance, Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer, in their case study analyses, demonstrate that a change Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique

Pre-election day voting increases the opportunities for citizens to vote in an election. This pap... more Pre-election day voting increases the opportunities for citizens to vote in an election. This paper asks who votes before election day in Australia and whether early voters and election day voters decide their vote differently. In Australia's compulsory voting system early voting lowers the costs of voting for citizens who would otherwise be compelled to vote on a prescribed day. We may therefore expect that in a compulsory system, early voting has the effect of bringing forward some voter turnout, while aggregate turnout is unaffected. Using 2016 Australian Election Study data, we find that early voters do not appear to suffer time constraints distinguishing them from election day voters: they are no more likely to have caring responsibilities nor to work in time-inflexible occupations. Early voters tend to be older than election day voters, and are more likely to strongly dislike the leader of their non-preferred party. However, feelings towards the parties generally and the state of the economy are not related to early voting. This research suggests that of expanding the voting period in compulsory systems provides greater voter convenience but reduces the capacity of campaign promises and events to affect vote choice.

The percentage of women elected in the Australian Parliament is comparatively low. This poor trac... more The percentage of women elected in the Australian Parliament is comparatively low. This poor track record has generated debate within political parties about the necessity of gender quotas (or targets) to increase women's representation. Using the 2016 Australian Election Study, this paper proposes to test support for different measures aiming to increasing women's representation in Australian politics. More specifically, I investigate the role of partisanship in explaining gender differences in support for gender quotas. I find that differences in support for quotas are greater among women, and among men, than between women and men. The paper also demonstrates that the role of political values in explaining differences in support for gender quotas is non-uniform. Indeed, attitudes towards government intervention, minority rights, and gender equality are more crucial in explaining differences in support for legislative quotas among men than among women.

This paper proposes to investigate the influence of legislative quotas on gender differences in p... more This paper proposes to investigate the influence of legislative quotas on gender differences in political participation by analyzing the within- and across-country effects of quotas. Gender quotas can signal to women that their presence in politics is welcome, leading to a subsequent increase in their involvement in political activities. This change in political behavior should not be reproduced in men; thus, when gender quotas are present, the gap between men’s and women’s participation narrows. Using the European Values Survey and data from eighteen European democracies, this paper demonstrates that this indeed occurs for some political activities when gender gaps are compared before and after the introduction of quotas within countries. This result, however, is not replicated for across-country analyses. European countries without legislative gender quotas tend to have smaller gender gaps than countries with them. This result is explained by referring to the context of the adoption of gender quotas.

This analysis challenges the notion that women's representation does not influence gender gaps in... more This analysis challenges the notion that women's representation does not influence gender gaps in political participation in crossnational studies by arguing that women's representation should be measured differently. Using the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, the paper demonstrates that long-term effects of women's representation are more important than short-term measures in understanding gender gaps in a variety of political activities. The length of time since women have gained access to the political system explains gender gaps to a greater extent than the presence of women in the legislature and cabinet at one point in time. Additionally, when women's representation is measured by the presence of women politicians in cabinet, findings show that the conclusions of previous work on women's representation and political behavior may not extend beyond the US case. Finally, this study demonstrates that the type of political activities matter when analyzing the effect of women's representation.

In Canada, research has found few differences in levels of political participation between Franco... more In Canada, research has found few differences in levels of political participation between Francophones and Anglophones despite traditional differences in resources leading to participation. This study argues that it is when gender is considered alongside language that differences emerge. Differences in conditions between Francophone and Anglophone women may mean that the explanations for the gender gaps differ. Findings show that Francophone women in Québec have lower levels of political participation than Anglophone women and men across Canada. These gender gaps are small but significant. Differences in resources and involvement in voluntary associations help account for Québec Francophone women's lower participation. Additionally, these results indicate that the different political context and the different political influence of the women's movement in Québec matter in determining explanations for gender gaps in political participation.

This article investigates whether the smaller gender gaps in political engagement, found in more ... more This article investigates whether the smaller gender gaps in political engagement, found in more proportional electoral systems, translate into smaller gender differences in political participation. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, it presents the argument that more proportional systems may send signals that multiple interests are included in the policy-making process, which may increase women's levels of political participation and thereby reduce gender gaps. Additionally, the article tests for the possibility that a greater number of political parties and the elected representatives they provide act as barriers to political participation that have a greater impact on women's levels of participation than men's. It is argued that women's lower levels of political resources and engagement might create more difficult barriers for them than for men. Results lend little support for the first hypothesis, but a greater confirmation for the second.

Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer set out, in their vast study, to provide an additional explanation f... more Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer set out, in their vast study, to provide an additional explanation for a phenomenon that has been evident in the literature on political behaviours: there are gender differences in political engagement and participation. They argue that electoral institutions, such as electoral rules, and the consequences of the electoral system can promote political inclusion which affects men's and women's political behaviours differently. More inclusive electoral rules may provide incentives for citizens, and especially female citizens, to become involved in the political process. Electoral institutions can also act as symbols that may draw citizens into the political process. Since women have long been marginalized in the political system, " women may be more receptive to these signals of inclusion than men who have not historically been politically excluded or socially marginalized " (15). Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer identify proportional representation, high district magnitude and gender quotas as inclusive electoral rules that may influence positively and in greater proportions women's level of political engagement and participation. Furthermore, they argue that electoral rules can have an indirect effect on women's political involvement through the proportionality of the translation of votes into seats, the contours of the party system they produce and the level of women's representation they generate. A better translation of votes into seats, the presence of a greater number of political parties competing in elections and the presence of a high number of women in the legislature should send a signal to women in the electorate that the political system is inclusive and open to the presence of women. Thus, gender differences in political engagement and participation should be smaller when the electoral institutions are more inclusive. Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer find that, indeed, the proportionality of the electoral system is consistently associated with smaller gender gaps. The presence of gender quotas also has an important effect on gender differences in political engagement and participation. An important contribution of Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer's analysis is the combination of a large cross-national investigation with case studies. Cross-national analyses are lacking from the literature on gender gaps in political engagement and participation, especially since there is evidence that gaps tend vary across countries. Moreover, the presence of these variations in gender differences in political engagement and participation indicates that political institutions are an overlooked explanation for this phenomenon. Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer's work contributes to remedying this hole in the literature. The authors also complete their analysis with case study investigations of the effects of electoral reform in New Zealand and Russia and the effects of gender quotas in France and Uruguay. These case studies allow Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer to examine over time the mechanisms that relate electoral institutions to gender gaps in political engagement and participation. This combination of large a cross-national analysis with case studies reinforces the authors' theoretical claims about the role of electoral institutions in explaining gaps in engagement and participation. It allows for a more convincing argument that address the problem of causality that arises when studying political institutions. For instance, Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer, in their case study analyses, demonstrate that a change Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique