Do female legislators have different policy priorities than their male colleagues in an undemocratic/semi-democratic legislature? The case of Hong Kong
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Legislative Studies
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Volume
23
Issue
1
First Page
44
Last Page
70
Publisher
Routledge
Keywords
democratic transitions, gender outcomes, Hong Kong, Legislator policy priorities, legislatures in undemocratic/semi-democratic regimes
Abstract
This article investigates the impacts of democratic transition on gender outcomes in Hong Kong, which has a unique path of transition. The author studies whether democratic transition in Hong Kong since the mid-1980s has brought positive gender outcomes. Specifically, this article examines the extent to which Hong Kong’s female legislators acted for women’s interests from 1970 to 2012. The study finds that after the introduction of legislative elections, female legislators were more likely to represent women’s interests than male legislators. Apart from gender, the study also finds that political orientation of a legislator significantly affected legislator policy priorities and/or gender outcome. Liberal legislators proposed significantly more motions related to women’s interests than conservative legislators. Finally, the study highlights that as the legislature was transited from an undemocratic to a semi-democratic body, legislators were significantly more likely to propose motions related to women’s interests.
DOI
10.1080/13572334.2017.1283174
Print ISSN
13572334
E-ISSN
17439337
Funding Information
This research was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong under the Early Career Scheme [grant number CS14A1]. {CS14A1}
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Tam, W. (2017). Do female legislators have different policy priorities than their male colleagues in an undemocratic/semi-democratic legislature? The case of Hong Kong. Journal of Legislative Studies, 23(1), 44-70. doi: 10.1080/13572334.2017.1283174