This paper proposes an empirically grounded framework of the relationship between recognition and representation. It draws primarily on Nancy Fraser’s (1996; 2005; 2007) concept of ‘parity of participation’ and the “institutionalized hierarchies of cultural value” (2005: 73) that result in the over-valuing of some contributions to society, and the under-valuing/ misrecognition of others. Elections translate recognition into formal political power, and hence misrecognition is a factor in the underrepresentation of women, racialized minorities, people with disability, among others. I introduce the concept of ‘electoral currencies’: the socio-historical terms of exchange, in which political value is arbitrary and prejudiced. Electoral currencies foreground and problematize the (political) return that women receive for (political) labour, revealing how ‘recognition’ is neither inalienable nor commensurable across fields of social action. This research builds upon studies examining the disconnect between what women do and the return for effort in terms of political influence or opportunity (Cruz and Tolentino 2019; Cullen and Gough 2022; Daby 2021).
Recognition emerged as a key theme in ethnographic research (2021-2025) on regional and metropolitan councils in New South Wales, Australia, involving longitudinal studies of two councils; shorter qualitative case studies of eight regional councils; participant observation of the 2021 and 2024 elections, and over 150 interviews with councillors, candidates, and community leaders. Findings are three-fold: women were motivated to contest elections to redress perceived misrecognition as individuals, and/or a group; cultural patterns of recognition disadvantage female candidates in some elections, but not others; commensurability between ‘council’ and ‘community’ coded activities partially explains this variation; appropriation of recognition impacts the length of women’s tenure as councillors. These findings point to the relationship between parity of participation and representation in local government, and the role of elections in producing anew, or radically transforming institutionalized hierarchies of cultural value.
