Parliamentary Recruitment in the UK House of Commons: De-Gendering Workplace Structures, Gendering the Applicant. Issue 1 (13th October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Miller, Cherry M
• Is Part Of: Parliamentary affairs. Volume 75:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 39
• Page End: 57
• Publication Date: 2020-10-13
• Subjects: feminist discursive institutionalism -- parliamentary administration -- parliamentary recruitment -- procedure -- UK Parliament -- working practices; Representative government and representation -- Periodicals; Legislative bodies -- Periodicals; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; Legislative bodies; Political science; Representative government and representation; Great Britain; Periodicals; Periodicals; 328.4105
• DOI: 10.1093/pa/gsaa054
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-2290

Abstract

Abstract: Recruitment to key positions in institutions can be viewed as one way to introduce strategic reforms; however, little research has been conducted as to the effectiveness of the practice within parliaments. Even less has been written about the recruitment practices for non-elected parliamentary actors. Applying a feminist discursive institutionalist analysis, this article highlights the main discourses prominent in discussions around the recruitment to the Clerk of the House of Commons in 2014. It is argued that there are three discourses that rhetorically de-gendered career structures in the UK House of Commons, while two discourses explicitly gendered the applicant to the position of Clerk. The article discusses the broader significance of these insights for analysing parliaments as gendered workplaces, and for member engagement with parliamentary administrations.