Do parliaments work like all-male clubs?

What is it about?

Women are still a minority in most parliaments. What is more, female MPs tend to face discriminatory, sexist remarks when speaking at the lectern. In this article, I compare different incidents from around the world in order to see whether verbal attacks against women as public speakers are founded on similar argumentative strategies.

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Why is it important?

Democracy is built on the public discussion of controversial ideas and offers fora, such as the houses of parliament, in which opposing political groups can officially meet and reach a consensus or at least a compromise capable of achieving a majority (Sarcinelli 2011). In this context, it is vital to understand if discoursive strategies in parliament may prevent female politicians from voicing their opinion and, thus, limit their contribution to the legislative process.