Contested Inclusion: Theorizing Women’s Entry into Electoral Politics

Women remain underrepresented in electoral politics around the world. In previous work (Krook 2009), I propose that the share of women in elected office is the result of three interacting sets of factors: electoral rules (systemic institutions), political party selection practices (practical institutions), and norms of equality and representation (normative institutions). In this paper, I use this framework to theorize gendered dynamics of political inclusion and exclusion. Achieving advances requires attending to these three dimensions and how they work together to shape the share of women in elected office. I develop two typologies, one focused on strategies of inclusion and the other on strategies of exclusion. Strategies of inclusion include efforts to change, or work within, existing electoral rules to integrate women; modify practices of candidate selection, for example through the introduction of gender quotas; and foster norms of equality and representation that support and solidify commitments to equal representation. Strategies of exclusion entail defending existing electoral arrangements disadvantaging women; undercutting the effectiveness of gender quotas and other candidate selection reforms; and delegitimizing methods of positive action and the goal of equal representation. I argue that dynamics of contestation are often ongoing, requiring continual adjustments to tactics of inclusion and exclusion to shape outcomes. Throughout the paper, I draw on examples from the Nordic countries to illustrate these dynamics as they play out over time.