JBS Vol 22. Num 2. 2020 - When Women and Men Legislators Talk About Women’s Issues, Do They Talk About The Same Things? Evidence From The Bangladesh Parliament

Previous research has largely focused on if and how women legislators bring more women’s concerns to the floor of the parliament than their male counterparts. This article takes a different approach, arguing that even when men and women legislators are representing similar types of women’s issues, they do not have the same understanding of these issues. This article uses an operational definition of women’s concerns and issues by distinguishing between strategic and practical women’s needs. For its empirical investigation, it examines five years of parliamentary proceedings of the Bangladesh Parliament (9th) and analyzes its four legislative interventions on women’s issues. These findings have implications for an understanding of the substantive representation of women legislators in parliament.