Parliamentary bodies and gender mainstreaming

Abstract

The role of parliamentary bodies in feminist governance has received less attention than women’s policy agencies. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women in the Canadian House of Commons is one exception and is the subject of two of the papers in this panel: one on the effects of partisanship and one measuring legislative impact (compared to parliamentary bodies in Spain and Australia). Another paper on the effects of partisanship looks at a creative response to legislation in New Zealand cancelling pay equity. In response a ‘people’s select committee’ made up of former MPs from across the political spectrum started taking submissions and holding hearings. Inclusivity is also an important theme in the study of parliamentary bodies and in this panel intersectional analysis is applied to parliamentary hearings in Finland – with a special emphasis on policy advocacy by immigrant women’s associations and transpersons’ NGOs. Finally, the panel includes a paper on the experience of women cabinet ministers in five West African countries, including perceptions of their representation impacts.

Title	Details
‘At the End of the Day it is the Politicians Who Make Policy’: Lessons from Women Cabinet Ministers from Five Countries in West Africa	View Paper Details
Auditing the Auditors: Evaluating the Impact of Parliamentary Gender Audit Committees on Law-Making	View Paper Details
Women’s Representation and Antagonistic Co-operation Amongst Legislators: The Case of Canada’s Status of Women Committee	View Paper Details
“Feminist politics and/or feminist policies: a case study of the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity in Aotearoa New Zealand 2025/26”	View Paper Details
Intersectional policy advocacy? The case of Finnish parliamentary committee hearings	View Paper Details