Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T02:56:55.027Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Into the Mainstream or Still at the Margins? 50 Years of Gender Research in the Canadian Political Science Association

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2017

Erin Tolley
Erin Tolley*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall Room 3018, 100 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, email: erin.tolley@utoronto.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The annual conference of the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) is a disciplinary bellwether that helps us trace the evolution of political science scholarship. This article analyzes research presented at the conference between 1965 and 2015. It shows growth in the gender and politics sub-field and in the presence of women in leadership positions in the CPSA. At the same time, gender-related research is often presented in gender-focused panels and not incorporated across the discipline's sub-fields. This means that gender scholars typically present their work to like-minded researchers, and scholars in other sub-fields have little exposure to gender perspectives. That such siloing occurs at the earliest stages of research dissemination is an important contextual factor in understanding gendered citation patterns, departmental hiring and rates of tenure and promotion. For Canadian political science to remain relevant, more needs to be done to incorporate gender perspectives across the discipline's sub-fields.

Résumé

La conférence annuelle de l'Association canadienne de science politique (ACSP) est un baromètre de l’état de la discipline qui nous aide à retracer l’évolution des connaissances en science politique. Cet article analyse les travaux de recherche présentés à la conférence entre 1965 et 2015. Il révèle une attention croissante portée au sous-domaine de la genre et la politique et une présence accrue des femmes en position de responsabilité au sein de l'ACSP. En même temps, la recherche sur l’égalité des sexes est présentée souvent dans des panels axés sur le genre et n'est pas intégrée à d'autres sous-domaines de la discipline. Cela signifie que les chercheurs dont les recherches portent sur des questions liées à l’égalité des sexes présentent généralement leurs travaux à des chercheurs qui partagent les mêmes intérêts et que les chercheurs dans d'autres sous-domaines sont peu exposés aux perspectives axées sur le genre. Qu'une telle compartimentation survienne aux premières étapes de la diffusion de la recherche est un important facteur contextuel dans la compréhension des profils de citation différenciés selon le genre, des pratiques d'embauche dans les départements et des taux de titularisation et de promotion. Pour que la science politique canadienne demeure pertinente, il reste encore beaucoup à faire pour intégrer les perspectives axées sur le genre aux autres sous-domaines de la discipline.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 143 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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.)

Footnotes

I am grateful to Jane Arscott, Sylvia Bashevkin, David Moscrop, Jill Vickers and the journal's anonymous reviewers whose comments helped improve the manuscript. Christine Ackerley digitized the programmes, Vivian Hua provided excellent research assistance, and Michelle Hopkins filled in gaps in the historical record. Any errors are, of course, mine.

References

Anonymous. 2014. “No shortcuts to gender equality: The structures of women's exclusion in political science.” Politics & Gender 10 (3): 437–47.Google Scholar
APSA. 2005. “Women's Advancement in Political Science.” Washington, DC: American Political Science Association.Google Scholar
Bashevkin, Sylvia. 1985. Toeing the Lines: Women and Party Politics in English Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Brandes, Lisa, Buker, Eloise, Burgess, Susan, Cook, Constance, Flammang, Janet, Geiger, Shirley, Okin, Susan, Yoon, Bang-Soon and Ackelsberg, Martha. 2001. “The Status of Women in Political Science: Female Participation in the Professoriate and the Study of Women and Politics in the Discipline.” PS: Political Science and Politics 34 (2): 319–26.Google Scholar
Breuning, Marijke and Sanders, Kathryn. 2007. “Gender and journal authorship in eight prestigious political science journals.” PS: Political Science & Politics 40 (2): 347–51.Google Scholar
Cassese, Erin C. and Bos, Angela L.. 2013. “A hidden curriculum? Examining the gender content in introductory-level political science textbooks.” Politics & Gender 9 (2): 214–23.Google Scholar
Cassese, Erin C. Bos, Angela L., and Duncan, Lauren E.. 2012. “Integrating Gender into the Political Science Core Curriculum.” PS: Political Science & Politics 45 (2): 238–43.Google Scholar
CAUT. 2013. CAUT Almanac of Post-Secondary Education in Canada: 2012–2013. Ottawa: Canadian Association of University Teachers.Google Scholar
Cheng, Christine and Tavits, Margit. 2011. “Informal influences in selecting female political candidates.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (2): 460–71.Google Scholar
Chesler, Phyllis. 2006. The Death of Feminism: What's Next in the Struggle for Women's Freedom. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
CPSA Diversity Task Force. 2012. Report and Analysis of the Canadian Political Science Association Member Survey. Ottawa: Canadian Political Science Association.Google Scholar
Curtin, Jennifer. 2013. “Women and Political Science in New Zealand: The State of the Discipline.” Political Science 65 (1): 63–83.Google Scholar
Evans, Heather K. and Moulder, A.. 2011. “Reflecting on a Decade of Women's Publications in Four Top Political Science Journals.” PS: Political Science & Politics 44 (4): 793–98.Google Scholar
Gruberg, Martin. 2009. “Participation by women in the 2008 APSA annual meeting.” PS: Political Science & Politics 42 (1): 173–74.Google Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie. 2007. “Intersectionality as a normative and empirical paradigm.” Politics & Gender 3 (2): 248–54.Google Scholar
Johnson, Carol. 2015. “Women, gender and feminism in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A review.” Australian Journal of Political Science 50 (4): 695–706.Google Scholar
Kantola, Johanna. 2008. “‘Why Do All the Women Disappear?’ Gendering Processes in a Political Science Department.” Gender, Work & Organization 15 (2): 202–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kittilson, Miki Caul. 2015. “Advancing Women in Political Science: Navigating Gendered Structures of Opportunity.” PS: Political Science & Politics 48 (3): 450–53.Google Scholar
Lucas, Jack. 2013. “A century of political science in Canada.” Journal of Canadian Studies 47 (2): 89–118.Google Scholar
Maliniak, Daniel, Powers, Ryan and Walter, Barbara F.. 2013. “The gender citation gap in international relations.” International Organization 67 (4): 889–922.Google Scholar
Mershon, Carol, and Walsh, Denise. 2015. “Organizing Women: Diversifying Leadership and Addressing Discrimination in Political Science Departments.” PS: Political Science & Politics 48 (3): 459–63.Google Scholar
Montpetit, Éric, Blais, André and Foucault, Martial. 2008. “What does it take for a Canadian political scientist to be cited?” Social Science Quarterly 89 (3): 802–16.Google Scholar
Olivo, Christiane. 2012. “Bringing women in: Gender and American government and politics textbooks.” Journal of Political Science Education 8: 131–46.Google Scholar
Sawer, Marian. 2004. “The impact of feminist scholarship on Australian political science.” Australian Journal of Political Science 39 (3): 553–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stegmaier, Mary, Palmer, Barbara and van Assendelft, Laura. 2011. “Getting on the Board: The Presence of Women in Political Science Journal Editorial Positions.” PS: Political Science and Politics 44 (4): 799–804.Google Scholar
Tolleson-Rinehart, Sue and Carroll, Susan J.. 2006. “‘Far from Ideal:' The Gender Politics of Political Science.” American Political Science Review 100 (4): 507–13.Google Scholar
Tremblay, Manon, and Pelletier, Réjean. 2001. “More women constituency party presidents: A strategy for increasing the number of women candidates in Canada?” Party Politics 7 (2): 157–90.Google Scholar
Trimble, Linda, Arscott, Jane and Tremblay, Manon, eds. 2013. Stalled: The Representation of Women in Canadian Governments. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Vickers, Jill. 1997. Reinventing Political Science. Halifax: Fernwood.Google Scholar
Vickers, Jill. 2015. “Can we change how political science thinks? ‘Gender mainstreaming’ in a resistant discipline.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 48 (4): 747–70.Google Scholar
Wahlke, John. 1991. “Liberal Learning and the Political Science Major: A Report to the Profession.” PS: Political Science & Politics 24 (1): 48–60.Google Scholar
Young, Cheryl D. 1995. “An Assessment of Articles Published by Women in 15 Top Political Science Journals.” PS: Political Science and Politics 28 (3): 525–33.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Tolley supplementary material

Appendix 1

Download Tolley supplementary material(File)
File 20.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Tolley supplementary material

Table

Download Tolley supplementary material(File)
File 18.6 KB