An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Meryl Kenny (Sabbatical Fellow 2022; University of Edinburgh)
Experiencing the Core Executive: Gender, Ministers and Institutions in Scotland
Devolution in Scotland is internationally considered to be a case of successful and gender-sensitive ‘constitutional engineering’, where favourable opportunity structures and strategic women’s movement mobilization resulted in concrete gender equality outcomes, most notably in the achievement of high levels of women’s representation in the Scottish Parliament. Women were part of the ‘winning coalition’ for change in the run-up to the establishment of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999, successfully introducing a gendered perspective to the prospect of a ‘new politics’, distinct from Westminster-style ‘politics-as-usual’. Yet, almost twenty-five years after devolution, many scholars view ‘new politics’ as a spent force, arguing that despite efforts to be different, the Scottish Parliament is ultimately the child of Westminster.
This project seeks to explore this relationship, investigating the ways in which new (gendered) institutions are instantiated following processes of constitutional and institutional restructuring by (gendered) actors using formal and informal rules, and exploring how the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ interplay to open up and constrain possibilities for change. In this work-in-progress presentation I focus on one aspect of this project, examining the core executive in Scotland through a gendered lens. While most research on gender and executives has focused on exploring when, how and where women become government ministers, this project tries to shift the focus to explore what it is like when they get there. It presents some initial findings – drawing on documents, media coverage, and interviews with former ministers – and offers some preliminary conclusions as to the ways in which ministers navigate the demands, rules and rituals of central government, and with what general and gendered effects.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/86535202023
Passcode: Vr8f3ew2