Naisliikkeen heijastuminen kansanedustajien lainsäädäntötoiminnassa:

Mies- ja naiskansanedustajien 1907-1977 valtiopäivillä tekemien aloitteiden vertailu

Kirjoittajat

• Sirkka Sinkkonen
• Elina Haavio-Mannila

Abstrakti

This paper focuses on two questions: 1) What kind of differences there are between men and women MP’s in their efforts to transform social problems into political issues? 2) What is the possible impact of women’s movement on these differences? The starting point are two types of arguments (utilitarian and ideological) used to justify recent policy efforts to increase the proportion of women in the important decision making bodies within the political system. According to the utilitarian arguments it is good for the whole society and especially to its underpriviledged groups if there are more women decision makers in the policy process. The ideological arguments for women’s increased representation are derived from the normative theory of democracy. The data consist of the policy initiatives (legislative, fiscal and petitionary private member bills submitted to the parliament) of men and women MP’s during the time period of 1907—1977, N = 2 533. The data gives empirical validity to both types of arguments. Women have made more than men MP’s policy initiatives based on soft humanitarian values and aiming to improve the position of the underpriviledged groups. Both men and women have acted more on behalf of the interests and demands of their own gender. The amount and type of activity of women MP’s in making policy initiatives varied according to the variations in the activity and nature of women’s movement and other factors influencing the role of women, e.g. wartime.