Regional Trends for Women’s Electoral Success in the East African Legislatures (original) (raw)
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Many countries in Africa score very low on gender equality measures; yet, they have some of the highest percentages of women in parliament. They have managed to achieve significant representation of women in government through fast track measures such as the implementation of gender quotas. In the context of fast track reform, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of such parliamentary gender quotas in general, and in particular of different types of quotas, for improving gender equality in African countries. Our empirical results suggest that although all mandated quota systems lead to an increase in the number of women in policy-making, the type of quota affects the de facto ability of women in parliament to influence legislative agendas and ultimately to improve the lives of women. Our findings have implications for the design of affirmative action measures targeting women's participation in the political process.
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The Effect of Increased Women's Representation in Parliament: The Case of Rwanda Downloaded from
There is an increasing amount of work on whether a higher level of women's representation in parliament leads to a different style of parliamentary politics. To date, most studies have focused on Western cases, and the results have been mixed. Women add new dimensions to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence that increased women's representation changes policy outputs. The little work that has been conducted outside the Western context confirms the mixed nature of these findings. In sub-Saharan Africa, women have added issues such as HIV/AIDS and property rights to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence to suggest that increased women's representation has altered policy outcomes. In this article, we examine the case of Rwanda, which now has the highest level of women's representation in parliament in the world at 48.75 per cent. Based on face-to-face interviews with women representatives in the Rwandan parliament, we confirm that the Western-based work has validity in a developing world context. In Rwanda, women representatives considered themselves to have a greater concern with grassroots politics, although there was also some divergence of views on the matter; there has been no change in the working hours or calendar of parliament. In terms of the policy agenda, women's issues are now raised more easily and more often than before, and there has been a strong advocacy of 'international feminism' by many deputies. However, increased women's representation has had little effect on policy outputs. ON average, women constitute only 17.0 per cent of representatives in parliaments across the world. 1 This unequal gender balance has been the subject of much feminist criticism and the focus of many campaigns for change. Increasing the number of women in parliament is often justified on the basis that it is simply more just to have equal proportions of men and women in a representative body. However, this is not the only basis for the promotion of women in politics. It has been claimed that women have a different approach to or 'style' of politics, that their election to parliament in greater numbers will change the nature of the parliament itself, and that their influence will be seen in changed policy priorities and legislation.
The Effect of Increased Women's Representation in Parliament: The Case of Rwanda
Parliamentary Affairs, 2008
There is an increasing amount of work on whether a higher level of women's representation in parliament leads to a different style of parliamentary politics. To date, most studies have focused on Western cases, and the results have been mixed. Women add new dimensions to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence that increased women's representation changes policy outputs. The little work that has been conducted outside the Western context confirms the mixed nature of these findings. In sub-Saharan Africa, women have added issues such as HIV/AIDS and property rights to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence to suggest that increased women's representation has altered policy outcomes. In this article, we examine the case of Rwanda, which now has the highest level of women's representation in parliament in the world at 48.75 per cent. Based on face-to-face interviews with women representatives in the Rwandan parliament, we confirm that the Western-based work has validity in a developing world context. In Rwanda, women representatives considered themselves to have a greater concern with grassroots politics, although there was also some divergence of views on the matter; there has been no change in the working hours or calendar of parliament. In terms of the policy agenda, women's issues are now raised more easily and more often than before, and there has been a strong advocacy of 'international feminism' by many deputies. However, increased women's representation has had little effect on policy outputs.
More women in the Tanzanian legislature: Do numbers matter?
Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 2011
This study examines the changes that followed the rise in the number of female parliamentarians in the Tanzanian legislature and the contextual factors undermining the potential power of the increased number of female MPs. As found in a number of other countries, with more women in parliament, women's interests, concerns and perspective have been better incorporated into parliamentary debates and policy-making in Tanzania. However, the increase in female parliamentary representation challenges the existence of the special-seat system that helped women reach a large minority. The effectiveness of female MPs in Tanzania will improve only with a stronger legislature and a sturdier opposition. If the special-seat system is to remain, a new selection mechanism that allows direct cross-party competition among special-seat candidates should be considered to bring better qualified women into parliament.
Journal of Public Administration and Governance
There have been gradual efforts to increase the number of female MPs in Tanzania through women empowerment creation of quotas (special seats) to enable them play an active role in this important decision making body. This article seeks to find out whether the increase in number of women MPs in the Tanzanian Parliament has influenced women’s degree of intervention in terms of: (1) asking basic questions; (2) asking supplementary questions; and (3) making contribution to parliamentary discussions. We obtained data from the official website of the Parliament of Tanzania, and analyzed them through descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. The results suggest that an increase in number of female MPs will increase their level of intervention; hence, we are inclined to the conclusion that numbers matter in determining female MPs’ influence in the Parliament.