Gendered dynamics in parliamentary career termination: the case of the Irish parliament

A significant body of literature is concerned with the gendered dynamics at play in the selection of candidates, the election of legislators, and their promotion within parliament. This paper explores the extent to which we observe gender differences with respect to the termination of parliamentary careers. While politically interested women have tended to experience caring responsibilities and their motherhood status as a barrier to entry into politics, this problem has tended to be solved by women entering into politics later in life (i.e. when their children are older). As a result, we might expect women’s careers on average to be shorter than that of their male colleagues. Women’s legislative careers might be expected to end sooner than men’s due to the extent to which they experience hostility and resistance. If voters exhibit a preference for male over female candidates, women incumbents may be more vulnerable to swings against their party and therefore be more likely to lose their seat. Similarly, women may be more likely to choose to end their career in politics in the face of a gendered political culture and a gendered workplace (parliament) that negatively impacts their working conditions and opportunities for progression. This project investigates the extent to which the careers of female parliamentarians are shorter than those of men, even controlling for the age at which they were first elected. It further investigates whether the reasons for a parliamentary career ending (due to scandal, due to retirement, due to an electoral loss) are different across men and women. We explore these questions in the context of the Irish lower house, Dáil Éireann. The Republic of Ireland represents an interesting site of inquiry, given the historic underrepresentation of women in politics. Prior research has revealed the gendered nature of candidate selection (Culhane, 2017) and of the Irish parliament (Connolly, 2013). This, coupled with the candidate-centred electoral system (PR-STV), suggests that Ireland represents a likely case for studying gendered dynamics in parliamentary career termination.