Women’s Participation in Elections and Legislatures in Kenya under the 2010 Constitution

2021 ◽  
pp. 403-431
Author(s):  
Jill Cottrell Ghai
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Constitutional Principle ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Kenyan Women ◽  
The Impact

The chapter outlines the progress made with women’s representation in legislature since independence and then assesses the impact of the 2010 Constitution on this matter. Although Kenyan women had been active in the struggle for independence, there were no women in independent Kenya’s first parliament. By 1997 the total was nine (4.1 per cent of the total membership), five of whom were nominated by parties after the election. Women were again active in the agitation for a new Constitution, and in the official constitutional review bodies during 2000–2010. The Constitution finally adopted in 2010 includes various provisions designed to ensure that women are far more prominent in elected bodies, at national or devolved level, though none guarantees the constitutional principle of ‘no more than two-thirds of either gender’ at the national level. The chapter shows that at the county (devolved) level enough women must be selected from party lists, in proportion to the seats each party obtained, to top-up the total to one-third women. Special constituencies and a few list seats for women at the national level are a guarantee of only nearly 15 per cent women. The chapter reviews the reasons for women struggling to get nominated and elected, and traces the efforts, legislative and other, to achieve the constitutional percentage. It also analyses how the push for legislation to ensure the ‘no more than two-thirds’ of one gender at national level through quotas.

scholarly journals Exploring Gender Socialization on African Political System and Women's Participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-25
Author(s):  
Andrew Enaifoghe
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Political System ◽  
Gender Socialization ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
The Impact

This study explored the role of gender plays and the participation impacts of women on African politics, the religion and socio-cultural factors responsible for the underrepresentation of women through socialization in Africa. Obviously, past research has demonstrated that fundamentalist religious beliefs and affiliations are related to preservationist gender demeanours or attitude. This idea not only impacts gender gaps in political participation in cross-national examinations by belligerence that women's portrayal ought to be measured in an unexpected way or differently. Utilizing Fundamentalism and Modernization Theories, this paper shows that long haul impacts of women's representation are more indispensable than short-term measures in understanding gender gap in a mixture of political exercises. The timeframe since women have accessed the political framework discloses the gender gap to a more noteworthy degree than the presence of women in the governing body and cabinet at one point in time. Findings demonstrate that the suppositions of earlier work on women representation and political conduct or attitude may stretch out beyond Africa it also finds that gender grouping has in many ways impacted the low participation of women in African political system through socialization. At last, this study shows that the kind of political exercises matter and the implementation of policies that encourage give women level play ground to participate in politics while breaking down the impact of gender socialization as of the factors for women's representation in legislative issues crosswise over Africa. A qualitative approach was used in this study alongside with empirical investigation.

Seeing Women, Strengthening Democracy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magda Hinojosa ◽  
Miki Caul Kittilson
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Impact

How does the more equitable representation of women in positions of power affect male and female citizens? We argue that the election of women to political office—particularly where women’s presence is highly visible to the public—strengthens the connections between women and the democratic process. For women, seeing more “people like me” in politics changes attitudes and orientations toward the democratic process. Substantial variation persists across Latin America in gender gaps in political engagement and political support. To assess the effects that women’s officeholding has on these, we pair comparative survey data from Latin American countries with case study evidence from Uruguay. The Uruguayan case offers a unique laboratory for testing the impact of women’s representation in elected positions of power on political engagement and support. Our panel survey of Uruguayan citizens reveals that the expected gender gaps in political knowledge, political interest, and other forms of political engagement were alive and well six weeks before the elections. Yet, just six weeks following the election—after the use of a gender quota had led to a doubling of women’s representation in the Senate—those gender gaps had largely disappeared or had significantly waned. Our findings indicate that far-reaching gender gaps can be overcome by more equitable representation in our political institutions.

Understanding the Impact of Electoral Systems on Women's Representation

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 379-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank C. Thames
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Vote Share ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Impact

The study of electoral systems is a key area of research within political science. In part, the attention paid to electoral systems reflects their importance to democratic political systems. Electoral systems define “what constitutes” a vote, establish “a rule for how votes are totaled,” and create a mechanism for “translating vote share into seat allocations” for representative institutions (Bawn 1993, 966). These roles mean that electoral systems impact not only how interests are represented, but also how accountability is structured.

scholarly journals WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT IN BULGARIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6(75)) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
G.I. Pavlova
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Operational Management ◽  
Gender Equality Policy

The purpose of this article is to study the share of women involved in healthcare management at various levels. Results: The women engaged in top management are 28%. The share of women at the middle level of management is nearly twice larger (53.4%). In operational management such as the management of healthcare establishments, women’s participation is 36%. Conclusion: Women’s representation in the management of the healthcare system in Bulgaria (35.9%) falls behind European countries’ indicators (41%). Bulgaria is applying a gender equality policy but a lot remains to be done.

The View at the Top or Signing at the Bottom? Workplace Diversity Responsibility and Women’s Representation in Management

ILR Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Graham ◽  
Maura A. Belliveau ◽  
Julie L. Hotchkiss
Keyword(s):  
Management Practice ◽  
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Women lag men in their representation in management jobs, which negatively affects women’s careers and company performance. Using data from 81 publicly traded firms with more than 2,000 establishments, the authors examine the impact of two management structures that may influence gender diversity in management positions. The authors find no association between the presence of an HR executive on the top management team—a structure envisioned in practice as enhancing diversity but which could, instead, operate merely symbolically—and the proportion of women in management. By contrast, the authors show a strong, positive association between a previously unexamined measure of commitment to diversity—the hierarchical rank of the individual certifying the company’s required, confidential federal EEO-1 report—and women’s representation in management. These findings counter the common perception that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations are too weak to affect gender diversity. The authors discuss the implications for diversity scholarship, as well as for management practice and public policy.

Changing Women's Exclusion from Politics: Examples from Southern Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Gouws
Keyword(s):  
Direct Action ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Women's Movements ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Institutional Politics ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article analyses different dimensions of institutional politics, such as women's representation in government and state structures such as National Gender Machineries, as well as the impact that institutionalization has had on women's organizations. To improve women's representation in government the acceptance of quotas to increase the number of women in legislatures has made a difference, but it is still unclear if women's presence leads to power and policy influence. National gender machineries have not really changed conditions of inequality due to their cooptation by the state and their general dysfunctionality. The reliance on institutional politics has lead to a fragmentation and in some cases a demobilization of women's movements that has a negative effect on keeping governments accountable for women's equality. I conclude by arguing that direct action should shift to the transnational level, where feminist solidarity on that level can lead to changes on a local level.

Not much happened: The impact of gender quotas in Poland

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Millard
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
The Impact

Poland maintained its open-list PR system but introduced gender quotas in the 2011 parliamentary elections in order to increase the number of women deputies. Yet this change had only a limited impact on women’s representation. The 2011 election confirms that ‘favorable’ electoral laws provide opportunities for women, but they cannot guarantee that women will be elected. In particular, the use of quotas alone is not sufficient to ensure high levels of women’s representation. The most important factors in explaining the Polish result were 1) the absence of a ‘zipper’, a list ordering that alternates men and women candidates, thus ensuring high list-places for women 2) the parties’ favoring of men in their list placement 3) the relative size of the political parties and 4) voters’ support for list leaders and incumbent deputies. Despite a disappointing outcome, quotas may be seen as beneficial in increasing women’s presence and the potential for further evolution of the electoral system.

Does Non-Quota Strategy Matter? A Comparative Study on Candidate Selection and Women's Representation at the Local Level in Germany

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Florian Ruf
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Local Council ◽  
Explanatory Factors ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Party

Abstract The intraparty mechanisms through which parties recruit, motivate, and select their candidates are central explanatory factors for the representation of women. This article analyzes the effects of intraparty factors on women's representation by measuring the impact of (1) parties’ non-quota strategies at the regional level—such as establishing women's sections, mentoring programs, or campaign funding for women—and (2) central party gatekeepers at the local level. Exploiting an original, newly compiled data set consisting of 1,475 electoral lists from the 2014 local council elections in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, this article shows that parties’ non-quota strategies and central gatekeepers play crucial roles in determining the share of women on local party tickets. This means that who runs for office is, in this case, a question of intraparty dynamics. These dynamics are caused by different mechanisms of non-quota strategies and gender-biased candidate selection combined with interparty effects of local party competition and left-party strength. The almost consistent conditions that the subnational level provides show that the parties’ capacities (or lack thereof) for gendered recruitment is one major explanatory factor and should be tested at least in cross-national comparisons.

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