scholarly journals Spatial Dimensions of Female Political Participation: Regional Perspective of Women’s Descriptive Representation in Czech Local Councils, 1994–2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 729
Author(s):  
Pavel Maškarinec
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Spatio Temporal

This paper focusses on the analysis of female political participation in the decision-making processes at the local level. We analyse women’s descriptive representation in Czechia on a very detailed spatial structure and an extended yearly time series (1994–2018). The main goal of the paper is to examine the spatial dimension of the disparities in female representation in local elections at the level of all Czech municipalities. To achieve this goal, global and local spatial autocorrelation methods were used. The observed spatial patterns of women’s descriptive representation in Czech local councils proved to be very stable. Furthermore, an analysis of the spatio-temporal (in)stability of women’s representation across different elections demonstrated that despite the divergent spatial autocorrelation of women’s descriptive representation across Czechia’s territory, there were no substantial changes in the clustering of women’s representation between elections, except for an identified overall decline in the homogeneity of the clusters. This suggests the existence of considerable spatio-temporal stability of women’s representation between local elections in the different municipalities. Thus, women’s descriptive representation attained in a municipality in a specific election reproduces at a similar level in the following elections rather than diffusing to surrounding municipalities in the form of a contagion effect.

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.

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.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Melody E. Valdini
Keyword(s):  
Political Behavior ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Political Office ◽  
New Perspective

Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the central theory of this book: women’s political representation depends in part on whether men in power see a benefit to associating their political party or government with women. It begins with a brief discussion of the existing literature on women’s representation to establish the foundations of what is already known about women’s path to political office. It then engages the literature on the rational incentives that drive political behavior and goes on to suggest that the self-interested motivations of gate-keepers should be considered in any analysis of women’s descriptive representation. Finally, it presents a synopsis of the following chapters of the book and briefly describes the theoretical contributions and empirical examinations presented to culminate in a new perspective on women’s descriptive representation.

Exploring the Low Levels of Women's Representation in Japanese Local Government

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE BOCHEL ◽  
HUGH BOCHEL
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Low Levels

Although women have consistently outvoted men in elections in Japan since the 1970s, the country has a relatively poor record in terms of women being elected to representative bodies. In recent years, there have been increases, particularly in the number of women in the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, but at the local level the rate of change has been slower.As in other states, a number of propositions have been put forward to explain the low numbers of women in local assemblies. Drawing upon a variety of sources, including the developing literature and interviews with women councillors and others, this article seeks to identify the variety of factors that have contributed to holding down levels of female representation in local government in Japan. It examines these in the context of recent changes and considers the extent to which there is the prospect for further change.

scholarly journals Partycypacja polityczna imigrantów w Polsce. Na przykładzie aktywności cudzoziemców w wyborach samorządowych w 2014 r. i 2018 r.

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1 (179)) ◽  
pp. 181-204
Author(s):  
Monika Trojanowska-Strzęboszewska
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Electoral Participation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Actual Degree ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
Barriers And Challenges ◽  
The Right

Political participation of immigrants in Poland. The case of foreigners’ activity in the local government elections in 2014 and 2018 The issue of political participation of immigrants in Poland is becoming current and is worth reconsidering by the state authorities because of the growing number of immigrants settling in Poland. Due to the structure of immigration to Poland, characterized by the dominance of immigrants coming from outside the European Union, these issues are not subject to EU regulations that apply only to EU citizens. It is an open question whether the Polish authorities will take action to extend certain political rights to immigrants from third countries who have moved the center of their life activities to Poland. The article discusses the issue of political participation of immigrants in Poland on the example of their activity in local elections in 2014 and 2018. The research objective is to identify the key determinants of electoral participation of foreigners and to analyze the data of the National Electoral Commission, showing the actual degree of use by immigrants living in Poland of their electoral rights at the local level (the right to vote and the right to stand for election). The conducted analysis aims to reveal formal and practical possibilities as well as barriers and challenges, especially of a systemic nature, in the field of electoral participation of immigrants in Poland, both those who already have such rights and those who could obtain these rights. Streszczenie Zagadnienie partycypacji politycznej imigrantów w Polsce nabiera aktualności i warte jest ponownego rozważenia przez władze państwowe wraz z rosnącą liczbą imigrantów osiedlających się w Polsce. Z uwagi na strukturę imigracji do Polski, charakteryzującą się dominacją imigrantów pochodzących spoza Unii Europejskiej, kwestie te nie podlegają regulacjom unijnym, odnoszącym się wyłącznie do obywateli UE. Otwartym pozostaje pytanie czy polskie władze podejmą działania w kierunku obejmowania wybranymi prawami politycznymi także imigrantów z krajów trzecich, którzy przenieśli centrum swojej aktywności życiowej do Polski. W artykule podjęty został temat partycypacji politycznej imigrantów w Polsce na przykładzie ich aktywności w wyborach lokalnych w 2014 i 2018 r. Jego zasadniczym celem badawczym jest identyfikacja kluczowych uwarunkowań partycypacji wyborczej cudzoziemców oraz analiza danych Państwowej Komisji Wyborczej, ukazujących rzeczywisty stopień korzystania przez cudzoziemców mieszkających w Polsce z przysługujących im praw wyborczych na poziomie lokalnym (prawa wybierania i prawa do kandydowania). Przeprowadzone analizy posłużyły ujawnieniu możliwości, barier i wyzwań, formalnych i praktycznych, zwłaszcza natury systemowej, w zakresie partycypacji wyborczej imigrantów w Polsce, zarówno tych, którym takie prawa już przysługują, jak i tych, którzy prawa te mogliby uzyskać.

scholarly journals Electoral Institutions and Women’s Representation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael FitzGerald ◽  
Melody E. Valdini
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Systems ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Impact

While there are many factors that drive women’s descriptive representation (i.e., the percentage of women in the legislature) the electoral institutions generate some of the most powerful and consistent effects. In the first breaths of this literature, the focus was firmly on the impact of majoritarian electoral systems versus proportional representation (PR) systems on women’s descriptive representation. Since then, the literature has grown to engage broader ideas regarding the complicated nature of analyzing institutions in different cultural contexts and under different social conditions. Particularly in the later decades of the 20th century, scholars found that structural factors, such as economic disparities between men and women and the balance of women in careers that are typical paths to political office, were important to consider in concert with electoral rules. More recently, as more women gain access to the economic elite, the literature has focused more on cultural factors such as the historical legacies of Communism and the general societal reactions to women’s leadership. These non-institutional factors are now widely engaged as an important component of understanding why and to what extent we can expect an electoral system to generate a certain outcome. Beyond the impact of the electoral system itself, there is also relevant literature that engages how electoral institutions such as gender quotas and candidate selection processes affect women’s descriptive representation. There is wide variation in the design of gender quotas as well as candidate selection processes, just as there is in the design of electoral systems, and therefore a fuller understanding of the relationship between electoral institutions and women’s representation requires consideration of the interaction of candidate selection procedures, gender quotas, and electoral systems. For example, the presence of a placement mandate (i.e., a requirement stipulating where on the list women candidates must be positioned) or a decentralized candidate selection process each has a different effect on women’s representation in an electoral system that includes a preference vote. The sections below highlight some of the existing literature on electoral institutions and their impact on women’s descriptive representation. This is by no means an exhaustive list but does offer insight into the general themes and research areas that are common in this field of study.

Public Perceptions of Women’s Inclusion and Feelings of Political Efficacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
KATELYN E. STAUFFER
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation

Theoretical work argues that citizens gain important symbolic benefits when they are represented by gender-inclusive institutions. Despite the centrality of this claim in the literature, empirical evidence is mixed. In this article, I argue that these mixed findings are—in part—because many Americans hold beliefs about women’s inclusion that are out of step with reality. Leveraging variation in survey respondents’ beliefs about women’s representation, I examine how these perceptions influence attitudes toward Congress and state legislatures. In both cases, I find that believing women are included is associated with higher levels of external efficacy among both men and women. Using panel data, I then show that when citizens’ underestimations (overestimations) are corrected, their levels of efficacy increase (decrease), shedding further light on this relationship. The findings presented in this research add new theoretical insights into when, and how, Americans consider descriptive representation when evaluating the institutions that represent them.

scholarly journals Postal Voting and Voter Turnout in Local Elections: Lessons from New Zealand and Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacky Yaakov Zvulun
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Local Level ◽  
First Century ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between postal voting and voter turnout in local elections needs to be investigated in the context of whether postal voting helps increase voter turnout in twenty-first century local elections. This assists to uplift the discourse about New Zealand and Australia local elections and its voter turnout. This article explores the method of postal voting history by looking at these two countries and analysing the method of political participation at the local level. It argues that postal voting no longer increases or decreases voter turnout in these countries. KEYWORDS: • postal voting • voter turnout • local elections • participation • New Zealand

Determinants of Women’s Descriptive Representation in the 2014 Czech and Slovak Local Elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-410
Author(s):  
Pavel Maškarinec ◽  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
The Czech Republic

The main objective of this article is to analyse the determinants of women’s descriptive representation in the 2014 local elections in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is shown that although both countries are considered democratic and in spite of two decades of multi-dimensional transition, women are underrepresented at the local level. Especially electoral results in the municipalities which are considered sub-regional centres and where almost one-half of the population of both countries is concentrated are studied. As it is pointed out, factors like local population or political and institutional factors play an important role in women’s success in local politics.

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