Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-nr592 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-08-13T11:39:54.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Who Represents Women in Turkey? An Analysis of Gender Difference in Private Bill Sponsorship in the 2011–15 Turkish Parliament

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2018

Eda Bektas  and
Esra Issever-Ekinci
Eda Bektas
Affiliation:
Bilkent University
Esra Issever-Ekinci
Affiliation:
Syracuse University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, we examine substantive representation of women in the 2011–15 Turkish Parliament by focusing on sponsorship of private members’ bills by members of parliament (MPs) across eight major issue areas. The Turkish case offers new insights into women's representation, not only because this topic is unexplored in the Turkish context but also because it provides an opportunity to examine the tension between gender as a social identity and ideology as a political identity in a legislature characterized by disciplined political parties and low gender parity. Findings indicate that women MPs in Turkey substantively represent women by sponsoring more bills on women's rights and equality issues than their male colleagues, despite their low numbers in parliament and affiliation with highly disciplined parties. Party ideology also shapes women MPs’ issue priorities depending on the emphasis placed by the parties on different issue areas. Whereas left-wing women MPs sponsor more bills on women's rights and equality issues defined with a feminist accent, right-wing women MPs sponsor more bills on issues regarding children and family. Left-wing women also differ significantly from right-wing women in their sponsorship of bills on health and social affairs issues, as left-wing parties prioritize those issues more than right-wing parties.

Keywords

TurkeyTurkish Parliamentsubstantive representationprivate members’ bills (PMBs)women's issuesideology

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 851 - 881
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments; Gülce Kale for her assistance in web scraping; and Selin Akyüz, Aaron Clarke, Emre Ekinci, Berk Esen, and Zeki Sarıgil for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

References

REFERENCES

Aksoy, Hürcan A. 2015. “Invigorating Democracy in Turkey: The Agency of Organized Islamist Women.” Politics & Gender 11 (1): 146–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aktaş, Murat. 2015. “Women's Political Representation in Turkish Political Life.” [in Turkish.] In Woman and Politics in a Global World [in Turkish], ed. Dalaman, Zeynep B.. İstanbul: İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi Türkiye Araştırmaları ve Uygulamaları Merkezi.Google Scholar
Altındal, Yonca. 2007. “Sociological Analysis of Women's Branches of Political Parties in terms of Women's Political Participation.” [in Turkish.] Ph.D. diss., Adnan Menderes University.Google Scholar
Arat, Yeşim. 1994. “Toward a Democratic Society: Women's Movement in Turkey in the 1980s.” Women's Studies International Forum 17 (2–3): 241–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayata, Ayşe G., and Tütüncü, Fatma. 2008a. “Critical Acts without a Critical Mass: The Substantive Representation of Women in the Turkish Parliament.” Parliamentary Affairs 61 (3): 461–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayata, Ayşe G., and Tütüncü, Fatma. 2008b. “Party Politics of the AKP (2002–2007) and the Predicaments of Women at the Intersection of the Westernist, Islamist, and Feminist Discourses in Turkey.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 35 (3): 363–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayata, Sencer, and Ayata, Ayşe G.. 2007. “The Center-Left Parties in Turkey.” Turkish Studies 8 (2): 211–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bäck, Hanna, Debus, Marc, and Müller, Jochen. 2014. “Who Takes the Parliamentary Floor? The Role of Gender in Speech-Making in the Swedish Riksdag.” Political Research Quarterly 67 (3): 504–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baum, Christopher F. 2008. “Modeling Proportions.” Stata Journal 8 (2): 299–303.10.1177/1536867X0800800212CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bird, Karen. 2005. “Gendering Parliamentary Questions.” British Journal of Politics and International Relations 7 (3): 353–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Rosie, Childs, Sarah, and Lovenduski, Joni. 2010. “Do Women Need Women Representatives?” British Journal of Political Science 40 (1): 171–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catalano, Ana. 2009. “Women Acting for Women? An Analysis of Gender and Debate Participation in the British House of Commons 2005–2007.” Politics & Gender 5 (1): 45–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celis, Karen. 2012. “On Substantive Representation, Diversity, and Responsiveness.” Politics & Gender 8 (4): 524–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Mazur, Amy G.. 2012. “Introduction.” Politics & Gender 8 (4): 508–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah, and Krook, Mona Lena. 2006. “Should Feminists Give Up on Critical Mass? A Contingent Yes.” Politics & Gender 2 (4): 522–30.Google Scholar
Childs, Sarah, Webb, Paul, and Marthaler, Sally. 2010. “Constituting and Substantively Representing Women: Applying New Approaches to a U.K. Case Study.” Politics & Gender 6 (2): 199–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Döring, Holger, and Manow, Philip. 2016. “Parliaments and Governments Database (ParlGov): Information on Parties, Elections and Cabinets in Modern Democracies.” Development version. http://www.parlgov.org/ (accessed July 11, 2018).Google Scholar
Dorronsoro, Gilles, and Massicard, Élise. 2005. “Being a Member of Parliament in Contemporary Turkey.” European Journal of Turkish Studies 3. https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/502 (accessed July 10, 2018).Google Scholar
Erdem-Akçay, Ebru. 2013. “Expanding Women's Rights versus Conserving the Traditional Family in the Civil Code Amendment Debates in Turkey.” Middle Eastern Studies 49 (1): 76–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grey, Sandra. 2006. “Numbers and Beyond: The Relevance of Critical Mass in Gender Research.” Politics & Gender 2 (4): 492–502.Google Scholar
Güneş-Ayata, Ayşe and Doğangün, Gökten. 2017. “Gender Politics of the AKP: Restoration of a Religio-conservative Gender Climate.” Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19 (6): 610–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacob, Suraj. 2014. “Gender and Legislative Performance in India.” Politics & Gender 10 (2): 236–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kabasakal, Mehmet. 2014. “Factors Influencing Intra-Party Democracy and Membership Rights: The Case of Turkey.” Party Politics 20 (5): 700–711.10.1177/1354068812453366CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Konda. 2011. “Research on Women's Representation in Politics.” March. http://konda.com.tr/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2011_04_KONDA_Representation_of_Women_in_Politics.pdf (accessed July 10, 2018).Google Scholar
Leijenaar, Monique. 2004. Political Empowerment of Women: The Netherlands and Other Countries. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni, and Norris, Pippa. 1993. Gender and Party Politics. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. “Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent ‘Yes.’” Journal of Politics 61 (3): 628–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Musil, Pelin A. 2011. Authoritarian Party Structures and Democratic Political Setting in Turkey. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, Anne. 1995. The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Pitkin, Hanna F. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A. 2006. “Still Supermadres? Gender and the Policy Priorities of Latin American Legislators.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (3): 570–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shields, Stephanie A. 2008. “Gender: An Intersectionality Perspective.” Sex Roles 59 (5–6): 301–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele. 2001. “Research on Women in Legislatures.” Women & Politics 23 (1–2): 167–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele. 2005. “Connecting Descriptive and Substantive Representation: An Analysis of Sex Differences in Cosponsorship Activity.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 30 (3): 407–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, Mine, Ecevit, Yıldız, Üşür, Serpil Sancar, and Acuner, Selma. 2008. “Gender Inequality in Turkey: Challenges, Priorities and Suggestions.” [in Turkish.] http://tusiad.org/tr/yayinlar/raporlar/item/3667-turkiyede-toplumsal-cinsiyet-esitsizligi-sorunlar-oncelikler-ve-cozum-onerileri (accessed July 11, 2018).Google Scholar
TurkStat. 2015. “Rankings and Index Values of Well-Being Index for Provinces.” http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=24561 (accessed June 22, 2017).Google Scholar
Volkens, Andrea, Lehmann, Pola, Matthieß, Theres, Merz, Nicolas, Regel, Sven, and Weßels, Bernhard. 2017. “The Manifesto Data Collection.” 2017b version. https://manifesto-project.wzb.eu/ (accessed July 11, 2018).Google Scholar
Wängnerud, Lena. 2000. “Testing the Politics of Presence: Women's Representation in the Swedish Riksdag.” Scandinavian Political Studies 23 (1): 67–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2006. “The Structure of Intersectionality: A Comparative Politics of Gender.” Politics & Gender 2 (2): 235–48.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Bektas and Issever-Ekinci supplementary material

Appendices A-B

Download Bektas and Issever-Ekinci supplementary material(File)
File 41.9 KB