Local women’s coalitions: Critical actors and substantive representation in Spanish municipalities

Abstract

The relationship between descriptive representation and substantive representation is an issue that has been widely discussed by women’s studies scholars. In general, it is assumed that there exists a positive relationship between the two, but the literature and empirical analysis show that substantive representation also depends on the action of other critical actors, such as gender agencies and the women’s social movement. Comparative research has shown the existence of a common pattern in post-industrial democracies: the development of women-friendly policies depends on the existence of coalitions between these critical actors. However, the analysis usually focuses on the national or regional level, and there is very little analysis at the local level, despite this being a political arena in which these processes can be developed. The aim of this article is to analyse the effect of coalitions of critical actors on the responsiveness to the demands of women’s groups in the case of Spanish municipalities using a representative survey. The objective, therefore, is to apply advances in the women’s substantive representation literature to the local level in Spain. Main results show that responsiveness is higher in municipalities where women’s coalitions exist.