Labyrinths to Leadership and Feminising from the Top - Women Leaders in Welsh Local Government

Women’s routes to political leadership have been variously characterised as ‘concrete walls’, ‘glass ceilings’, and ‘labyrinths’, alluding to the numerous barriers and obstacles they face in seeking political seniority. This paper draws on eighteen interviews with elected women local councillors in Wales (UK) – an under-researched political institution – to explore the first-hand experiences of women seeking, holding, or who had previously held senior positions. Further, it assesses links between their presence and women’s substantive representation and the feminisation or re-gendering of informal and formal norms and rules. Data show that women experienced longer routes into leadership positions, which were precariously contingent on individual gatekeepers. Their journeys were fettered by wider barriers to women’s political participation in local politics, which are exacerbated by seniority. Moreover, experiences were found to be significantly gendered, characterised by having to (re-)prove oneself, facing sexist treatment, and needing a ‘thick skin’ to cope. More positively, however, data do suggest links between seniority and substantive representation, with examples of senior women making a difference to policy, playing a pivotal role in the re-gendering of political workplaces, and acting as critical actors, pulling others up the ladder. The interview data indicate that holding a Cabinet portfolio enables opportunities for substantively representing women, with women in Cabinet positions being more likely to list and highlight specific policies for women they had contributed to or championed. This leads to the conclusion that, when they get there, women (and men) in senior council positions are ideally placed to act as critical actors, feminising from the top through championing issues, reaching a hand down, and changing organisational practices to improve the descriptive and substantive representation and participation of women.