Why are there more women in the municipal councils in Norway and in Denmark?
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Researchers do not find the explanation for the difference by looking at the municipal structure, party system and electoral system
– We usually have a notion that the Scandinavian countries are similar to each other. This is also true in a larger international perspective, but the use of concepts such as the Scandinavian models can also contribute to us overlooking interesting differences, says Signe Bock Segaar.
There is in fact a marked difference in the gender balance in Norwegian and Danish municipal councils.
Researchers Signe Bock Segaard, Ulrik Kjær and Jo Saglie shed light on the issue in a new article in the scientific journal Western European politics.
The three have compared figures from the recent local elections in the said country. They find that 41 per cent of representatives in Norwegian municipal councils are women (2019), while in Denmark 33 per cent are women in municipal councils (2017).
They also looked at figures for mayors the same years.
– The difference is even more marked if you look at the mayor level. In Norway, there are 35 percent female rapporteurs, compared to 14 percent in Denmark, says Segaard.
Thought-provoking differences in Scandinavia?
Denmark and Norway are often assumed to belong to the same Scandinavian models. Both countries are considered as pioneering countries with regard to gender equality.
– Therefore, it is not expected to find such gender differences in local politics.
– The differences are thought-provoking because the countries in the research literature are considered to be very happy when it comes to explanations of gender representation, says Segaard.
The research literature in the field addresses structural issues, such as municipal structure, party system and electoral system. According to Segaard, few people explore opportunities for cultural differences when it comes to Scandinavia.
The researchers argue that differences in structural conditions such as municipal size and party system can not explain why there are more female municipal council representatives in Norway than in Denmark.
Gender balance
Nor can the electoral system explain the difference, since the basic principle is quite similar. In both Norway and Denmark, you can choose to use personal votes to get elected candidates they like.
At the same time, the analyzes show that the parties’ selection of candidates is important.
– If it was only the parties’ rankings that decided who was elected, and personal votes did not matter, the proportion of women in Norwegian municipal councils would be 45 percent against 31 percent in Denmark, says Segaard.
– This indicates that Norwegian parties are aware of the gender balance when reaching previous election lists. However, this difference is somewhat reduced by the voters, Saglie explains.
He says that Norwegian voters in principle are most concerned with gender representation, but the candidate’s gender is at the same time less important for Norwegian voters than for Danish voters when they cast a personal vote.
– The analyzes show quite surprisingly that Norwegian female candidates are punished by the voters, while the opposite is the case in Denmark, says Saglie.
One possible explanation is that Norwegian voters reckon that the parties have already taken gender into account in setting up electoral lists, and that they therefore do not have to think about it when they vote.
Natural in Norway, taboo in Denmark
One possible answer to the fact that Norwegian parties are more concerned with the gender balance than Danish ones is that there are fundamental differences in the approach to gender and equality. It is different in how this theme is addressed on the political agenda and in the public debate.
According to Segaard, cultural differences within Scandinavia are not often referred to in the research literature on political representation.
She explains that, unlike in Denmark, Norwegian authorities have for many years actively launched and funded campaigns and research projects with a view to a more even gender balance in Norwegian municipal councils.
Political parties have voluntarily introduced various forms of gender quotas on the electoral lists. In Norway, gender quotas have also been introduced in other sectors, both on boards, public committees and the like.
– In other words, gender and equality are in many ways a natural consideration in Norway, while the theme can almost be considered a cultural taboo in Denmark, says Segaard.
Structural explanations rejected
The researchers have tested whether the municipal structure or party system in the countries comes into play. Can it show that it is cultural differences between Denmark and Norway that are decisive, and not the structural conditions?
Researchers know from previous research that there is often a lower proportion of women in small compared to large municipalities. According to Saglie, this pattern is also seen partly in Norway, but not in Denmark.
– Danish municipalities are larger than the Norwegian ones, but results show that this can not explain the difference in the composition of gender in the municipal councils. Across all size categories, the same pattern is seen – namely that the proportion of women is higher in Norway than in Denmark, says Saglie.
– Even in the smallest Norwegian municipalities, the proportion of women is greater than in the largest Danish municipalities.
The researchers find that parties on the right generally have a lower proportion of women and what the parties on the left have both in Norway and in Denmark
– At the same time, we see that the difference in local women’s representations cannot be explained by differences in the party systems. All Norwegian parties with the exception of Frp and MDG have a higher proportion of women than their Danish sister parties. This may indicate that it is some more fundamental cultural differences between the countries that affect the gender balance in the parties, independent of ideology, says Segaard.
– So we do not find the explanation for why there are more women in local politics in Norway than in Denmark by looking at structural conditions, says Segaard.
Reference:
Signe Bock Segaard et al .: Why does Norway have more female municipal councilors than Denmark: a flaw in the Nordic gender equality model? Western European politics2022. DOI: 10.1080 / 01402382.2022.2050590