13 Gender Quotas and Women’s Political Representation: Lessons for Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Susan Franceschet
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas

scholarly journals Female street vendors’ (dis)engagement with politics in Rwanda – Orientalising women’s political participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-117
Author(s):  
Xia Nan JIN
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Feminist Ethnography ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
Political Decision Making ◽  
Women's Political Participation

Women’s political participation was initiated as an instrument for gender equality yet now is under research scrutiny. Due to gender quotas and other institutionalization of women’s political inclusion, Rwanda has the highest number of women in its parliament – 67%. But is women’s political participation a real tool for gender equality, or is it one that through the artificial guise of women’s political representation sets up an exclusive political space? Apart from women who work in political institutions, who else are participating in politics and how and where are they engaging with politics? Feminists should claim back this discussion, reject neoliberal approach to ‘empower’ women and propose a more distributive and collective agenda. As part of my PhD project regarding women’s (dis)engagement with politics in Rwanda, female vendors drew my attention during my fieldwork in Rwanda. In Rwanda, female vendors are among the groups who are the ‘furthest’ to participate and influence the political decision-making process, yet are heavily influenced by various political policies on a daily base. For example, the by-law forbidding street vendors was initiated in 2015 and further enforced in 2017 was designed to punish street vendors because they build “unfair competition for customers with legitimate businesses paying rent and taxes” . Consequently, many female vendors face a great deal of violence by local forces. Using feminist ethnography as the methodology, I choose visual methods to tell the stories of female vendors. That is, the photography project is designed to elicit stories of ‘what happened when’, and to encourage participants to ‘remember’ past events, and past dynamics on the street, as well as to express their own opinions and ideas. My task is to reconstruct the process of female street vendor’s engagement with politics and in doing so deconstruct the fake formal image of female political participation in Rwanda.

Women in Burundi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Saiget
Keyword(s):  
Women's Rights ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Women's Organizations ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
History Of ◽  
Women’S Organizations

The history of women is characterized by nonlinear and gendered social, political and economic processes. In particular, the history of Burundian women’s collective actions has been embedded in the contested and violent trajectory of the Burundian state. Burundian women’s collective actions refer to a broad range of interactions: from protest, and social mobilizations to institutionalized actions. These interactions have been shaped by both global and local social structures, and by complex conflictive and cooperative relations between the Burundian state, political parties, women’s organizations and movements, and external actors (colonial powers, international organizations, non-governmental organizations). Women’s experiences in Burundi’s pre-colonial patriarchal society are little known, with the exception of the glorified Queen-mothers. German and Belgian colonial policies (1886–1962) reinforced and rigidified pre-colonial social constructions of ethnic and gendered social identities and roles, assigning ordinary women to the domestic sphere and sanctioning their social inferior status along with ethnic lines (Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa). After Burundi’s independence, the one-party military regime organized and supervised the first forms of women’s political participation through the Union des femmes burundaises (1962–1980s). The democratic transition of the early 1990s led to the creation of autonomous women’s organizations and networks, which were extended during the civil war (1993–2005). Burundian women actively contributed to national and grassroots peace processes. In particular, a delegation of seven Burundian women participated in the negotiations held in Arusha (1998–2000), with observer status. Post-conflict struggles for women’s rights posed the central issue of women’s political representation, with the adoption of gender quotas from 2005, but left aside other issues after 2010, such as women’s right to inherit land. In Spring 2015, Burundian women were present in protests against the president’s third mandate; with the women’s march being the first to reach the city center in March 2015. Women’s organizations kept mobilizing towards women’s rights after the electoral crisis, in exile or within Burundi, though facing important financial constraints and political repression.

Gender quotas and the problem with descriptive representation

Human Affairs ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markéta Mottlová
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Homogenous Group ◽  
Iris Marion Young ◽  
Social Collective

AbstractThe article focuses on descriptive representation, which is a fundamental theoretical concept underpinning the introduction of gender quotas. The main question I consider in the paper is how to overcome the essentialism of descriptive representation. I consider the essentialist line of reasoning as unsustainable because it pays little attention to differences among women. I claim that a possible and desirable solution is based on the concept of gender as seriality-by Iris Marion Young. Although women do not constitute a homogenous group, it is meaningful to talk about women as a group in some sense, specifically as a social collective. In this connection, I highlight the advantages of gender as seriality. Firstly and most importantly, it overcomes the essentialism of descriptive representation. Secondly, the concept of gender as seriality enables us to identify the barriers faced by women in politics. Finally, it highlights why quotas are legitimate tools that can be used to increase women’s political representation

scholarly journals Mecanismos de representación política en las democracias latinoamericanas: las cuotas electorales de género

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Roberto Álvarez San Martín
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
America Latina

Resumen: A partir de cifras y hechos planteados por PNUD, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW sobre la participación política de las mujeres, se realiza una revisión de los debates, aplicaciones y efectos de las cuotas electorales de género en América latina. Se toman en cuenta las diferentes barreras que deben sortear las mujeres en la arena política, y se analizan la definición, alcances y argumentos en pro y en contra de las cuotas electorales de género. Se analiza este mecanismo a partir de los casos de Argentina y Costa Rica, los más exitosos en términos de resultados; mientras México evidencia el impacto incremental de las cuotas en la representación femenina, Perú pone en evidencia la influencia de la fuerte tradición presidencialista. Brasil es un caso paradigmático, que representaría el fracaso de las cuotas de género. Se concluye que, salvo Argentina, las otras democracias sólo han podido acelerar el proceso de inclusión real de mujeres en los procesos eleccionarios, pero sin que los resultados sean realmente compatibles con lo esperado. Las mujeres latinoamericanas, con cuotas o sin ellas, siguen estando sub-representadas en los espacios de participación política.Palabras clave: Participación política femenina, cuotas electorales de género, mecanismos de representación política.Abstract: On the basis of data and facts put forth by UN, CEPAL, FLACSO Chile e INSTRAW about the political participation of women, this article analyzes the debates about the application and effects of electoral gender quotas in Latin America. The barriers to women’s political participation are taken into account, analyzing the definition, reach and arguments for and against gender quotas. The cases of Argentina and Costa Rica, the most successful in results, are analyzed. While Mexico shows the increased impact of quotas, Peru makes evident the influence of the strong presidential tradition. Brazil is a paradigmatic case, representing the failure of gender quotes. In conclusion, save for Argentina, other democracies have only accelerated the process of women’s inclusion in election processes, but without results compatible with expectations. Latin American women, with out without quotas, are underrepresented in the spaces of political participation.Key words: feminine political participation, electoral gender quotas, mechanisms of political representation.

scholarly journals Gendered accountability: when and why do women’s policy priorities get implemented?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Valeriya Mechkova ◽  
Ruth Carlitz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Child Mortality ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Infant And Child Mortality ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract Recent decades have seen a surge in women occupying positions of political power. This has been welcomed in part as a means of achieving better policy outcomes for women. We interrogate this proposition, developing a “gendered accountability” framework to explain when and how female representation promotes the implementation of policies that women prioritize. Our empirical analysis applies this framework to sub-Saharan Africa, home to the largest recent expansion in women’s political representation. We find that increased female representation in the legislature is robustly associated with reduced infant and child mortality as well as greater spending on health. Effects are magnified when women are more active in civil society and appear primarily in countries that have gender quotas and proportional electoral systems. Thus, while female representation can lead to improved policy outcomes for women, the process is not automatic and is unlikely to occur absent key institutional and societal conditions.

Women, Piety and Political Representation

Hawwa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-186
Author(s):  
Maimuna Mohamud
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Women's Narratives ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Post War ◽  
Islamic Society

The aftermath of violent conflict provides opportunities for fresh debates about gender politics. In sub-Saharan Africa, several post-conflict states have introduced constitutional reforms and quotas to promote women’s participation in government. Yet, women’s political representation in Somalia is a matter that goes beyond the hotly-debated gender quotas which are often championed by international donors and other peacebuilding actors. In post-war Somalia, women believe that the question of political representation is closely linked to the recognition of women’s ongoing contributions to society. For many women, the contemporary post-war Islamic discourses in Somalia have eroded some rights previously guaranteed—if imperfectly—by the pre-war state. Such discourses today have also constructed a new ideal version of Somali women in an Islamic society which largely dispossesses them from public life. In this article, I highlight Somali women’s forms of activism which are centered on engaging Islamic discourses in an attempt to change current perceptions about women’s roles in politics and public life. I examine women’s narratives for insights into the root causes of women’s exclusion and the strategies used to resist, counter, and challenge oppositional Islamic discourses. I conclude by considering how women’s ‘unorganized’ movements across Somalia—premised on working within a framework of Islam, are suggestive of multifaceted expressions of women’s agency in patriarchal and non-liberal contexts.

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