scholarly journals Affirmative action measures and electoral candidates’ positioning in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-533
Author(s):  
Vibeke Wang ◽  
Ragnhild L. Muriaas ◽  
Yvette Peters
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
Elected Office ◽  
A Current

ABSTRACTWhile the increase of women in elected office has received much scholarly attention, less attention has been paid to the dynamics of resisting gender quotas in countries that fail to adopt such measures despite regional and international pressure. We develop a context-sensitive typology of affirmative action measures that includes gender quotas and funding incentives and explore determinants of electoral candidates’ positioning in the context of Zambia. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach and unique data, we examine how candidates of different gender, party affiliation, and level of electoral success position themselves when asked to choose between different options. Intriguingly, electoral success and party allegiance – whether a candidate is affiliated with a current or former government party – are more important than gender. This finding is relevant for the debate on feminist democratic representation by showing that candidates are likely to have their more radical views muted when getting into position.

The Troublesome “Paradox of Gender Quotas”: A Few Methodological Notes on the Margin of an Article by Michael Jankowski and Kamil Marcinkiewicz

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej A. Górecki
Keyword(s):  
Recent Article ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
Paradoxical Effects ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Methodological Aspects ◽  
Electoral Performance

Abstract In a recent article published in Politics & Gender, Michael Jankowski and Kamil Marcinkiewicz (2019) study the effects of gender quotas on the electoral performance of female candidates in open-list proportional representation (OLPR) systems. On the empirical side, their study is a critical reanalysis of the Polish case, in particular the regularities demonstrated in a 2014 study that I coauthored. We argued there that at the micro level (candidate level), the effects of quotas were somewhat “paradoxical”: following the installation of quotas, women candidates tend to perform worse relative to their male counterparts than they did during the pre-quota period. Jankowski and Marcinkiewicz claim to demonstrate that those “paradoxical” effects are minor and thus practically negligible. In this note, I argue that their conclusion is largely a result of the particular methodological choices made by these authors. These choices seem unobvious, debatable, and potentially controversial. The note concludes that we need more reflection and debate on the methodological aspects of analyzing candidates’ electoral success in complex electoral systems, such as multidistrict OLPR. This would greatly facilitate future efforts aimed at an unequivocal examination of the contentious concepts such as the notion of “paradox of gender quotas.”

Party organization and gender in European elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 675-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Selection Procedures ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Party Strategy ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
Level I ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Elected Office

Political parties often monopolize the flow of politicians into elected office making it important to understand when, and under what conditions, parties are more or less likely to promote gender equality in representation. This article argues that party choices to nominate women in elections are conditional on the centralization of candidate selection within the party. Gender quotas and characteristics of the electoral environment have differential effects on candidate lists across party types. Leveraging data at the party level, I test when it is electorally feasible and organizationally possible for parties to nominate women for office. I find that candidate selection procedures condition the effects of party strategy and characteristics of the electoral environment on the percentage of women on electoral lists. The results provide insight into how strategic party choices, attenuated by electoral considerations and organization, impact the diversity of representation in political institutions.

scholarly journals Voter Support for Women Candidates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalyn Cooperman
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Opinion Polling ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
The Us ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Elected Office

Voter support for women candidates in American politics may best be summed up by the often-repeated phrase, “when women run, women win.” This statement indicates that when compared to male candidates running in a similar capacity, such as candidates for open seats in which no incumbent is present, female candidates are equally likely to win elected office. Voters, therefore, seem equally likely at face value to support female candidates. However, the literature on voter support for women candidates suggests that this voter support may be more conditional in nature. A central research thread on voters and women candidates is how voters perceive women candidates and, in turn, their electability. Research on gender stereotypes and candidates examines voter perceptions of the traits they typically associate with men and women, candidates, and officeholders and the circumstances under which these traits make gender and political candidacy more or less attractive. The literature on political party and voter support for women candidates explores how gender and party affect levels of voter support and is offered as one explanation for the party imbalance in women’s representation with female Democrats significantly outnumbering female Republicans as candidates and officeholders. Researchers have also examined how voters evaluate other components of women’s candidacies, including their party affiliation, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In addition to personal characteristics, scholars have explored how the type or level of office impacts voter support of women candidates with certain types of elected positions often considered more or less well suited for women candidates. More recently, a thread of research on voter support for women candidates has focused on women’s absence from the nation’s highest elected position—the US presidency. Scholars, and the candidate herself, have assessed voter support for or opposition to Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential bids in 2008 and 2016. This line of research includes public opinion polling that measures both the abstract idea of electing a woman president as well as electing a specific woman president, namely Clinton.

The Rise of Majorities and Emerging Existential Threats to India and China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Castellino
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
State Building ◽  
National Identities ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
China And India ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
India And China

Abstract China and India are comparable in size, complexity, and their relatively recent State-building histories. Commencing in 1947 and 1949 respectively, the relatively recent foundations of India and China highlighted a ‘unity in diversity’ message. The significance of this lay as much in ideology as in a pragmatism that was both central and relatively successful in bringing what could be argued as many civilizations into singular modern States. While the messages about diversity have always been contested in some quarters by rival ethno-nationalists, they remained significant in laying the foundations for a strong ‘national’ identity. To the majority populations, Hindu in India and Han in China this called for restraint to any triumphalism or chauvinism; to the minorities, they called for unshakeable loyalty in return for full citizenship rights. In both cases, these messages were backed by constructive affirmative action measures that, irrespective of their efficacy, served to emphasize the ‘unity in diversity’ message, sowing a degree of fealty towards the State over what may have been more prominent and compelling ethno-religious or ethno-linguistic cleavages. In recent years, however, this message has been significantly altered, as political majoritarianism has begun to oust legally or administratively determined minority protections. This article seeks to offer an assessment of the potential impact on this phenomenon on each country, arguing that it has contributed to instability, sowing seeds for the rise of opposing sub-national identities that the founding parents of each State actively sought to counter in their statecraft.

scholarly journals On The Same Page? Support for Gender Quotas among Indonesian Lawmakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella S. Prihatini
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Female Politicians ◽  
Positive Discrimination ◽  
Notable Increase

As a strategy to improve women’s share in Indonesian parliament, gender quotas were introduced in 2002 and first implemented in the 2004 elections. Despite vast research on the influence of gender quotas in nominating women into parliament, little is known about male and female politicians’ acceptance and perception of gender quotas. This paper seeks to explore how distinct are male and female MPs in perceiving gender quotas and in explaining the roots of women’s political under-representation. Using a questionnaire involving 104 representatives (54 male and 50 female), the study suggests a significant gender gap occurs not only in perceptions related to quotas’ positive-discrimination legitimacy and efficiency but also in explanations that hinder women’s electoral success and which strategies might work best in overcoming the disparity. These distinctions matter because they offer insights as to the dynamics explaining why gender quotas are not resulting in a notable increase in women’ parliamentary representation.

scholarly journals INDONESIAN MUSLIM WOMEN IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL CONTESTATIONS: Challenges to Gender Mainstreaming Policy in The 2019 Elections

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-217
Author(s):  
Bani Syarif Maula
Keyword(s):  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Patriarchal Culture ◽  
The Government

Abstract: Achieving equal opportunities between women and men in political competition has always been a complex process, even though the government has established affirmative policies to encourage a greater role for women in the political sphere. The issue of patriarchal culture and the challenge of religious conservatism can hamper the achievement of the objectives of the affirmation policy for women in competing for elections to occupy the position of parliament members (DPR-RI). This paper discusses the political contestation of women in reaching political positions as people's representatives and the challenges they face in fighting for issues of gender equality in the parliament. This research answers what factors are hampering women's involvement in political contestation, and what challenges are there in fighting for gender equality issues. This study used a qualitative method with a descriptive analysis approach. The theory used in this study was the concept of affirmative action and the theory of gender equality in politics. The results of the discussion showed that the number of women elected in the 2019 Elections increased. Thanks to the affirmative policy ruled by the Indonesian government. However, affirmative policies to meet gender quotas do not only benefit those who have gender equality agendas, but also those who stand with the anti-feminist movement that represents the voices of conservative groups. The issue they are fighting for is still trapped in the gender ideology proclaimed by a patriarchal culture, which assumes women's problems are identical to those of mothers. Therefore, not all elected women MPs explicitly have a gender perspective. الملخص:إن تحقيق تكافؤ الفرص بين النساء والرجال في المنافسة السياسية كان دائمًا عملية معقدة ، على الرغم من أن الدولة وضعت سياسات إيجابية لتشجيع دور أكبر للمرأة في المجال السياسي.يمكن أن تعوق مسألة الثقافة الأبوية وتحدي المحافظة الدينية تحقيق أهداف سياسة التأكيد للمرأة في التنافس على الانتخابات لشغل منصب أعضاء البرلمان (مجلس النواب لجمهورية إندونيسيا). تناقش هذه الورقة التنافس السياسي للمرأة في الوصول إلى المناصب السياسية كممثلة للشعب والتحديات التي تواجهها في الكفاح من أجل قضايا المساواة بين الجنسين في البرلمان.يجيب هذا البحث عن العوامل التي تعوق مشاركة المرأة في التنافس السياسي ، والتحديات التي تواجهها النساء في الكفاح من أجل قضايا المساواة بين الجنسين. تستخدم هذه الدراسة طريقة نوعية مع نهج التحليل الوصفي.النظرية المستخدمة في هذه الدراسة هي مفهوم العمل الإيجابي ونظرية المساواة بين الجنسين في السياسة. تظهر نتائج البحث أن عدد النساء المنتخبات في انتخابات 2019 زاد بنسبة 22 في المائة. بفضل السياسة الايجابية التي تحكمها الحكومة الاندونيسية.ومع ذلك ، فإن السياسات الإيجابية للوفاء بحصص النوع الاجتماعي لا تفيد فقط أولئك الذين لديهم أجندة للمساواة بين الجنسين ، ولكن أيضًا أولئك الذين يقفون إلى جانب الحركة المناهضة للنسوية التي تمثل أصوات الجماعات المحافظة.إن القضية التي يناضلون من أجلها لا تزال عالقة في الأيديولوجية الجنسانية التي أعلنتها ثقافة أبوية ، والتي تفترض أن مشاكل المرأة مماثلة لمشاكل الأمهات.لذلك ، لم يكن لجميع البرلمانيات المنتخبات منظور جنساني بشكل واضح.Abstrak: Mencapai peluang yang setara antara perempuan dan laki-laki dalam persaingan politik selalu menjadi proses yang kompleks, meskipun negara telah menetapkan kebijakan afirmatif untuk mendorong peran yang lebih besar bagi perempuan dalam ranah politik. Persoalan budaya patriarkal dan tantangan konservatisme agama dapat menghambat pencapaian tujuan kebijakan afirmasi bagi perempuan dalam memperebutkan pemilihan untuk menduduki posisi anggota DPR-RI. Kajian ini membahas kontestasi politik perempuan dalam mencapai posisi sebagai wakil rakyat dan tantangan yang mereka hadapi dalam memperjuangkan isu-isu kesetaraan gender di parlemen. Penelitian ini menjawab faktor-faktor apa yang menghambat keterlibatan perempuan dalam kontestasi politik, dan tantangan apa yang dihadapi perempuan dalam memperjuangkan isu kesetaraan gender. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan analisis deskriptif. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah konsep affirmative action dan teori kesetaraan gender dalam politik. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa jumlah perempuan yang terpilih dalam Pemilu 2019 meningkat 22 persen berkat kebijakan afirmatif yang ditetapkan oleh pemerintah. Namun demikian, kebijakan afirmatif untuk memenuhi kuota perempuan tidak hanya menguntungkan mereka yang memiliki agenda kesetaraan gender, tetapi juga mereka yang mendukung gerakan anti-feminis yang mewakili suara-suara kelompok konservatif. Masalah yang mereka perjuangkan masih terjebak dalam ideologi gender yang diproklamasikan oleh budaya patriarki, yang menganggap masalah perempuan identik dengan masalah ibu. Karena itu, tidak semua anggota parlemen perempuan yang terpilih secara eksplisit memiliki perspektif gender.

scholarly journals Payments and Penalties for Democracy: Gendered Electoral Financing in Action Worldwide

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
RAGNHILD MURIAAS ◽  
AMY G. MAZUR ◽  
SEASON HOARD
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentive ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Gender Balance ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Democratic Elections

This article examines the interplay between gendered electoral financing (GEF) and other crucial factors in democratic elections worldwide to determine whether, how, and why these understudied mechanisms help achieve gender balance in national parliaments. Integrating qualitative comparative analysis and minimalist causal mechanism case studies, the sequential mixed methods study of GEF implementation in 31 elections in 17 countries shows that enhanced gender balance is achieved when GEF is combined with several conditions, providing a much-needed financial incentive—payments and penalties—for party gatekeepers and eligible women to change their behavior. In successful cases of top-down GEF implementation, gender quotas combine with a PR electoral system or a 15% minimum of women MPs, a measure developed for this study. Success in bottom-up GEF implementation is unexpected and complex and occurs without a quota. The article ends with a discussion of the research agenda, policy recommendations, and implications for the pursuit of democratic quality.

Gender, Race, and Political Representation in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Piscopo ◽  
Kristin N. Wylie
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Action Measures ◽  
National Legislatures

Women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendant populations remain underrepresented in the national legislatures of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America. The descriptive (or numeric) representation of marginalized groups in national legislatures matters because legislatures make policy, check the president’s authority, and communicate who has full membership in the body politic. The inclusion of women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendants in legislatures sends information about the overall depth and quality of the democratic regime. Most legislatures have become more representative of women, primarily due to affirmative action measures designed to raise descriptive representation. As of October 15, 2019, every Latin American country except Guatemala and Venezuela had a statutory quota law for women candidates, resulting in women holding nearly 30% of seats in the region’s legislatures. However, such gains have not come without costs, including rising violence against women candidates and elected officials. Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela also use affirmative action to incorporate indigenous peoples into the national legislature, using reserved seats. However, reserved seats typically elect lower proportions of indigenous peoples relative to their population percentage. Afro-descendants face more barriers, as they must largely win legislative elections without the benefit of affirmative action. Afro-descendants remain excluded from formal politics even in Brazil, where the majority of the population self-identifies as black or brown. Indigenous and Afro-descendant women face barriers that emerge from both their gender and their race/ethnicity.

How Visibility Matters

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-54
Author(s):  
Magda Hinojosa ◽  
Miki Caul Kittilson
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Elected Office ◽  
Mass Level ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

Chapter 2 presents our theoretical framework underpinning expectations about how increases in descriptive representation—the number of women in politics—act as symbols to elicit changes in orientations toward politics, especially among women. We argue that women’s inclusion fosters a sense of belonging among women in the electorate. Importantly, these cues about women’s inclusion must be visible to ordinary citizens. Widespread awareness of quotas and women’s numbers in elected office are key implicit assumptions in much prior research on descriptive and symbolic representation. We argue that gender quotas and women’s presence in office can only yield changes in mass-level attitudes under conditions of visibility. We develop a visible cue theory of representation, linking descriptive to symbolic representation. We contend that having more women in politically powerful positions signals that politics is not strictly an arena for men (but only if citizens are aware of women’s political presence).

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