Gender Discourses in Legislative Politics: a case study

Abstract

This work aims to make an empirical contribution to the analysis the influence of gender in the political elite. Applying the theoretical models that define the construction of gender as psychological and social positions generally differentiated according to the sex in parliamentary activities. It develops a qualitative analysis about gender in parliamentary debates. The material analyzed was the text of Diaris de Sessions from 28th and 29th September 2005 relating the debate sessions about the proposition of reform of the Statute of autonomy of Catalonia. Beyond the contribution to the sociological perspective that involves the analysis, based on the results of this, the work emphasized the need for inclusion of woman in the politics. Under-representation of woman runs in parallel to an orientation of debates towards the confrontation , the objectivism and the universalism, characteristic of the male gender, and low relative presence of speeches focusing on the reconciliation of positions and needs of individuals, traits that characterize the female gender.