When do outsiders break in? Institutional circumstances of party leadership victories by women in Canada

Even though theorists disagree over the ability of newly mobilised interests to engage meaningfully with established parties, limited empirical research has probed the institutional circumstances under which outsiders ‘break in’. Second-wave feminist movements since the 1970s offer an important case study opportunity; they not only attracted women to mainstream political activism – including at top elite levels – but also challenged parties in organisational as well as policy terms. Focusing on the years 1975 and following, when nine women mounted ten campaigns to be party leaders across the Canadian ideological spectrum, this study examines how selection processes, electoral competitiveness and left/right positioning shaped elite-level success. It concludes that women's ability to win top posts was facilitated by weak electoral competitiveness and positioning outside the political right, meaning victorious candidates assumed positions of responsibility in parties that were far from the corridors of power.