Are Political Exits Gendered?

Research on women’s representation in legislatures around the world has long focused on obstacles that women face entering the political sphere, producing a robust account of the gendered barriers impeding women’s recruitment, nomination, and election as legislators. Relatively little research has examined women’s exits from politics, including the timing of, reason for, and framing of their departures from political life. Entrance is important for descriptive and substantive representation, and exit is too, especially if women’s careers end earlier than men’s and contribute to a leaky pipeline to senior leadership; if their exits are pushed or encouraged by gatekeepers or colleagues; or if public discourse about their exits is unduly critical, gendered, or interpreted as a reflection on women’s political viability or effectiveness more generally, for example. Highly negative or gendered exits might also have demobilizing effects on girls and young women by sending a message that women are less welcome or valued in politics. Our paper will address the following questions: do women politicians leave office earlier than their men colleagues or for different reasons? When women depart, how is this framed in media and public debate compared to men’s departures? For both of these questions, are patterns different for racialized, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ women? This paper presents a preliminary descriptive analysis of the patterns that emerge from these questions using an original dataset on Canadian legislators’ careers and departures from politics from 1974-2021, covering six decades and starting when women MPs were tokens in the Canadian House of Commons. Our paper will address the following questions: do women politicians leave office earlier than their men colleagues or for different reasons? When women depart, how is this framed in media and public debate compared to men’s departures? This paper presents a preliminary descriptive analysis of the patterns that emerge from these questions using an original dataset on Canadian legislators’ careers and departures from politics from 1974-2021, covering six decades and starting when women MPs were tokens in the Canadian House of Commons.