Gender and Politics: The State of the Art Sarah Childs and Mona Lena Krook University of Bristol 1 Over the last two decades, but particularly in the last 10 years, research into sex, gender and politics has become an established sub-field of political science. This article opens with some reflec- tions on the position of ‘women and politics’ scholars and research within the British political science community. It then moves on to reflect upon the burgeoning literature on women’s politi- cal representation. In particular, it questions the way in which the relationship between women’s descriptive and substantive representation has been operationalised and investigated in empirical research, namely through the concept of critical mass. Seeking to reframe these debates, the article suggests that future research should focus not on the question of when women make a difference, but on how the substantive representation of women occurs. Introduction Discussing the state of the ‘women and politics’ discipline seems fashionable as of late: Politics is the third mainstream politics journal in the last 18 months to have commissioned an article surveying the field (see Fiona Mackay in the British Journal of Politics & International Relations (2004) and Mona Lena Krook and Judith Squires in the launch issue of British Politics (forthcoming)). 2 Both Parliamentary Affairs and the BJPIR have also published special issues in the same time period. Further, alongside recent research monographs, such as Joni Lovenduski’s Feminizing Poli- tics (2005) and Wendy Stokes’s textbook, Women in Contemporary Politics (2005), two of this year’s big ‘three’ British general election edited collections contain stand- alone chapters on women (Norris and Wlezien, 2005; Geddes and Tonge, 2005). Gender and politics 3 scholars, mostly women, 4 are increasingly visible in the pro- fession at both senior and junior levels. 5 The PSA Women and Politics specialist group is the second most active in the PSA with a membership of approximately 60, 6 and its Annual Conference routinely attracts more than 40 women, impress- ing overseas visitors. 7 There are also strong and, in some cases, long-standing inter- national contacts. Relationships are forged and maintained at the personal level and through conferences, such as the ‘Women and Westminster Compared’ Con- ference held in Ottawa in 2004; research networks, such as the ECPR Women and Politics Standing Group; and specialised women and politics projects, such as RNGS (Research Network on Gender, Politics and the State) and MAGEEQ (Gender Main- streaming and Equality). Deeper institutional links with our sister organisations in the US are currently being developed. POLITICS: 2006 VOL 26(1), 18–28 © 2006 The Authors Journal compilation © 2006 Political Studies Association