Is Local Office a Springboard for Women to Dáil Éireann?

Abstract

Previous research has found the single transferable vote electoral system is relatively friendly to women candidates. Despite this, female representation in the Irish Parliament remains substantially lower than in most other democracies. Drawing on pipeline theory and localism, we assess the impact of local officeholding on the success of male and female major party candidates in the 2007 and 2011 Irish general elections. We find previous experience in local office is a key springboard to higher office for men and women, and when women serve in local government, the likelihood of election increases significantly.

KEYWORDS:

• Ireland
• localism
• pipeline theory
• PR-STV
• women and politics

Notes

1. Recent research suggests that the electoral system is one of several factors that account for the localism and constituency focus in Irish politics (Martin 2011).

2. Galligan (2008), who found constituency size had no effect on female TDs elected from the three largest parties in Ireland from 1948 to 2002, contests this (154–55).

3. Historically, Fianna Fáil was the largest political party, gaining the most votes and seats in every national election from 1932 through 2007, whereas Fine Gael and the Labour Party were the second and third largest parties. An economic crisis led to the “earthquake election” of 2011 (Gallagher and Marsh 2011) in which Fine Gael won the most seats, Labour came in second, and Fianna Fáil fell to third.

4. Previous research suggests that women who hold local offices are not as well positioned to run for office as their male counterparts (Mariani 2008). There is evidence, for example, that women are more likely than men to delay or forgo a political career to raise children or tend to other family responsibilities (Fox, Lawless, and Feeley 2001; Maestas et al. 2006). As a result, women who run for office are typically older than men, serve fewer years in office, and are more likely to pass up opportunities to run for higher-level positions (Mariani 2008).

5. Welch (1977) places key factors that contribute to lower levels of female representation into three categories: sociological, situational, and structural. For further discussion, see Constantini (1990).

6. Note that our database also includes variables that measure candidates’ personal and situational characteristics, including age, marital status, number of children, occupational status (professional or nonprofessional), and education (first-, second-, or third-level). Unfortunately, there is no uniform source for these measures, and data were difficult to obtain for independent candidates. Independent candidates for the Dáil won only 13 seats in 2002, 5 seats in 2007, and 15 seats in 2011. Although we do not include these variables in our analysis, we believe that the impact of personal and situational factors on the electoral success of female candidates deserves further examination.

7. In 2007 and 2011, district spending were €30,150 for a three-seat constituency, €37,650 for a four-seat constituency, and €45,200 for a five-seat constituency (Standards in Public Office Commission 2011).

8. In the Irish election system, candidates can seek election to multiple constituencies at the same time. The number of candidates who actually do this is very small, and for the purposes of simplicity, we treat races in different constituencies as separate candidacies.

9. In 2011 women comprised 34 percent of Fianna Fáil, 42 percent of Fine Gael, 36.5 percent of Labour, and 23.6 percent of Sinn Féin (Buckley and McGing 2011, 228).

10. The quota legislation also requires 30 percent male representation, though the lowest percentage of men elected to Dáil was 84.9 percent in 2011.

11. Indeed, Rainbow Murray (2014) argues that gender parity is the purpose of such quotas.