Gender Quotas in British Politics: Multiple Approaches and Methods in Feminist Research

Authors: Krook, Mona Lena¹; Squires, Judith²

Source: British Politics, Volume 1, Number 1, April 2006 , pp. 44-66(23)

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Abstract:

Recent methods textbooks contain chapters of sections on feminism as an approach to political research. Feminist scholars themselves, however, often express great ambivalence towards the possibility of presenting one single feminist perspective within political science. In fact, many treat methodologies as `justificatory strategies' and simply employ those most suited to addressing the particular issue at hand. In this sense, we argue, there is no distinctive feminist methodology, but there is a distinctive feminist approach to methodology and methods. More specifically, feminist research is driven by substantive political problems and is thus open to the deployment of a broad range of methodological frames. To establish this claim, we survey the recent research produced by feminist political scientists on gender quotas in British politics, paying close attention to the specific approaches and methods applied by individual scholars. We discover a distinctive willingness on the part of feminists to employ various theoretical frames and to explore possibilities for synthesizing or juxtaposing methods in innovative ways. Rather than perceiving this to be a weakness, undermining any notion of an overarching `feminist' perspective, we suggest that this methodological eclecticism is a strength, signalling the ability of feminist researchers to produce multifaceted research findings. Indeed, recent feminist work on British politics should be taken as a model of good practice in political research.British Politics (2006) 1, 44-66. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bp.4200002

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bp.4200002

Affiliations: 1: aDepartment of Political Science Washington University, Campus Box 1063, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA., Email: mlkrook@wustl.edu 2: bDepartment of Politics, University of Bristol, 10 Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK., Email: judith.squires@bristol.ac.uk

Publication date: 2006-04-01

Gender Quotas in British Politics: Multiple Approaches and Methods in Feminist Research

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