Universal basic income and a tax on robots – the rise of French socialist candidate Benoît Hamon

A surge of enthusiasm for the left-wing French Socialist Party candidate Benoît Hamon could see him nominated as presidential candidate. Hamon wants a universal basic income and shorter working hours – policies that distinguish him from the other socialist candidates. Susan Milner says his main achievement may be to preserve the Parti Socialiste as a distinct force on the left – but like Jeremy Corbyn, he has a mountain to climb to win over the rest of the electorate

Emmanuel Macron may win the presidential election, but turbulent waters lie ahead

Emmanuel Macron is a strong favourite to beat Marine Le Pen in the second round of France’s presidential election on 7 May. But as Susan Milner highlights, having topped the vote in the first round of the election, Macron will now have to deal with a number of new challenges, including greater scrutiny over his policy proposals, and the task of organising his ‘En Marche!’ movement ahead of legislative elections in June

Emmanuel Macron and En Marche! – left, right or simply on the move?

Emmanuel Macron, the leader of France’s new En Marche! movement, announced he would run for the French presidency this week. Who is this self-proclaimed ‘outsider’, and is he really as distant from the political establishment as he claims to be? Susan Milner looks at the challenges facing Macron as he joins a crowded field of presidential candidates

Emmanuel Macron and the building of a new liberal-centrist movement

One of the key stories of the French presidential election campaign so far has been the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron, who is currently challenging Marine Le Pen and François Fillon for a place in the second round. Susan Milner assesses his campaign, arguing that his chances of success will depend to a large extent on how wide he can keep the centre ground under attacks from the French centre-left and centre-right

Gender pay gap reporting regulations::advancing gender equality policy in tough economic times

This article sets out to explain why mandatory gender pay gap reporting regulations were introduced in 2016, whereas the two main parties had previously opposed state regulation. Observing the rise in the number of female MPs, it argues that the rise in descriptive representation has enabled substantive representation, but that this does not necessarily explain outcomes. Critical mass is a problematic concept due to difficulties of definition. Rather, the empirical evidence supports the idea that critical actors able to build alliances within the state machinery and beyond it, particularly by working with business influencers, are decisive in exploiting opportunities for change and securing support for it. Feminization of parliament and government also facilitate institutionalization of gender equality actors, although this process remains incomplete and contingent

Gender pay gap reporting regulations::advancing gender equality policy in tough economic times

This article sets out to explain why mandatory gender pay gap reporting regulations were introduced in 2016, whereas the two main parties had previously opposed state regulation. Observing the rise in the number of female MPs, it argues that the rise in descriptive representation has enabled substantive representation, but that this does not necessarily explain outcomes. Critical mass is a problematic concept due to difficulties of definition. Rather, the empirical evidence supports the idea that critical actors able to build alliances within the state machinery and beyond it, particularly by working with business influencers, are decisive in exploiting opportunities for change and securing support for it. Feminization of parliament and government also facilitate institutionalization of gender equality actors, although this process remains incomplete and contingent

Reflexivity and visual technology in research: young children’s perspectives of paternal engagement in the home environment

Although existing notions of reflexivity address the positionality of researchers, they rarely consider the processes through which methods and methodologies can come about. This study builds children’s reflexivity into the research design. Drawing on footage from a pilot visual ethnography of paternal engagement in home environments, we show first, that at one level, building children’s reflexivity into data collection and analysis, allows us to look at the relationship between the child, technology and the subject of their images; thereby establishing a position from which their perspective is produced. We found that their age and the particular visual technology used, shaped how the children positioned themselves and in turn, the kind of representations we gathered. As this was a collaborative study with a film maker and also involving discussions of film findings with teachers; a more general level reflexive analysis allowed us generate different viewpoints from which their perspectives were produced