2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
THE GENDER FACTORS IN THE ELECTIONS : AMERICA, SCOTLAND< AND JAPAN
| Project/Area Number |
16510202
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Gender
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| Research Institution | Asai Gakuen University |
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Principal Investigator |
AIUCHI Masako Asai Gakuen University, HUMAN CARE STUDIES, PROFESSOR, VICE PRESIDENT (60281771)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
AIUCHI Toshikazu OTARU UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE, GRADUATE SCHOOL, SCHOOL OF COMMERCE, PROFESSOR (90113505)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | the US Congressional Election / the Lower House Election / the Election of the Scottish Parliament / Electoral Systems / Women's Ratio in the Policy-Making Bodies / Gender Quota Systems |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to explore the possible factors to determine the electoral outcome of the female candidates running for the national level assemblies in the United States of America, Scotland and Japan. We focus the elections of the 2005 Lower House Election in Japan, the 2006 Mid-Term Election in the United States, and the 2007 Election in the Scottish Parliament.
Research shows the importance of the electoral systems as one of the most decisive factors for the women candidates to be successful. The barriers of the electoral systems against the women's successes are the strong incumbency and the length of the legislative term. Many states adopted the term-limits for the reelection of the candidates to the state assemblies, but this measure did not necessarily work for the women to be elected
The most effective measure to increase women's presence in the legislative bodies is the gender quota system. The research explores the arguments of pros and cons of the system, and shows the necessary and sufficient conditions in adopting the quota system for the elections of the minority members of the society, such as women, to the policy-making bodies.
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