Entering the men's domain? Gender and portfolio allocation in European governments

Dee Goddard

doi:10.1111/1475-6765.12305

Abstract

AbstractWhile all government portfolios used to be the purview of men exclusively, more and more women are selected to sit around the cabinet table. But under which circumstances do women get appointed to different ministerial portfolios? This article, proposes a theoretical framework to consider how party leaders’ attitudes and motivations influence the allocation of portfolios to male and female ministers. These propositions are tested empirically by bringing together data on 7,005 cabinet appointments across 29 European countries from the late 1980s until 2014. Considering the key partisan dynamics of the ministerial selection process, it is found that women are significantly less likely to be appointed to the ‘core’ offices of state, and ‘masculine’ and ‘neutral’ policy areas. However, these gender differences are moderated by the ideology of the party that allocates them. Women are more likely to be appointed to ‘masculine’ portfolios when a party's voters have more progressive gender attitudes. This theoretical framework and analysis enhances our understanding of women's access to the government, which has important implications for how ministers are selected, as well as how women are represented in the most powerful policy‐making positions in Europe.

Highlights

When a new government is announced, the gender balance of the cabinet is one of the irst assessments of the newly appointed decision makers
Of political parties and gendered dynamics, this article provides an analysis of how party characteristics inluence where women sit around the ministerial table. These party characteristics include the salience of different policy areas, the party’s ideological orientation and the gender attitudes of the party’s voters. This analysis addresses the research question: under what circumstances do women get appointed to different ministerial portfolios? The allocation of ministers to government portfolios is a complex, multidimensional problem faced by party leaders
This study provides a unique insight into the importance and salience of ministerial appointments for political parties by drawing on expert surveys (H2)

Summary

Introduction

When a new government is announced, the gender balance of the cabinet is one of the irst assessments of the newly appointed decision makers. H2: Ministers appointed to portfolios where the policy areas are of high salience to political parties are less likely to be female.

Results

Conclusion