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Feminists in Power: Women Cabinet Ministers in the New Democratic Party (NDP) Government of Ontario, 1990–1995
Author(s) -
Byrne Lesley Hyland
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-0072.1997.tb00044.x
Subject(s) - cabinet (room) , representation (politics) , politics , subversion , democracy , power (physics) , political science , public administration , government (linguistics) , sociology , public relations , political economy , law , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
Faced with power all women, whether feminists or not, are confronted with three possible strategies: to become part of the existing structure of political power and find a position of equality within it; to challenge the existing power structure through parties whose goal it is to preempt such power in order to transform it; or to remain on the fringes of the established structures in order to engage in the pressure tactics of subversion. Sylvie Paquerot, 1983 The difference between quantitative representation and qualitative (or “substantive”) representation has become of interest to scholars exploring the impact of the number of women elected to political institutions. Where once the focus was on the number alone, the most recent work emphasizes the significance of “interest representation.” Ultimately, the question is: Does it make a difference to have substantive representation of women, especially in positions of power? Does it make a difference in terms of policy outcomes? Does it make a difference in terms of institutional change? This research examines a case study of women cabinet ministers in the New Democratic Party government of Ontario, Canada, from 1990 to 1995. Based on lengthy interviews and an analysis of policy outcomes, this paper concludes that it did indeed make a difference, on both fronts, but that those transformations were not as dramatic as the feminist progressive components might project nor as extensive as the women's movement had hoped.