From a Small to a Large Minority: Women in Scandinavian Politics

‘It takes a critical mass of women, e.g. 30 percent, to make a difference in polities’ This statement is common today, even among women politicians themselves. However, the theory of the importance of the relative size of the minority has not been sufficiently developed in political science. Based on the experience of women in Scandinavian politics (today being a minority of about 30 percent), the article discusses six areas for which an increase in the proportion of the minority might lead to changes in for instance the political culture, the political discourse or the reaction to women as politicians. The article suggests that the concept of a critical mass is replaced by one of critical acts , which would seem to be more relevant when studying human beings.