Women in the Legislatures and Executives of the World: Knocking at the Highest Glass Ceiling

Abstract

This article reports the results of a survey of women in legislatures and executives around the world as they were constituted in 1998 (N = 180). The chief hypotheses regarding the factors hindering or facilitating women's access to political representation were tested by multivariate regression models. The regression models juxtaposed a cocktail of institutional, political, cultural, and socioeconomic variables with the following dependent variables: (1) the percentage of MPs who are women and (2) the percentage of cabinet ministers who are women.A number, although not all, of the cited hypotheses were statistically confirmed and more finely quantified. The socioeconomic development of women in society has an effect on the number of women in parliament but not in the cabinet. A country's length of experience with multipartyism and women's enfranchisement correlates with both the legislative and the executive percentage. Certain electoral systems are more women friendly than others. The ideological nature of the party system affects the number of women elected and chosen for cabinet posts. And last, the state's dominant religion, taken as a proxy for culture, also statistically relates to the number of women who will make it to high political office. However, other long-held hypotheses were not proved. The degree of democracy is not a good indicator of the percentage of women who will make it into the legislature or the cabinet, nor is the dichotomy between a presidential or parliamentary system.

Ethnic Politics and Women's Empowerment in Africa: Ministerial Appointments to Executive Cabinets

“…We build on previous findings indicating that governments based on coalition negotiations are less likely to include women cabinet ministers (Kobayashi 2004;Krook and O'Brien 2012;Reynolds 1999b;Studlar and Moncrief 1997;Whitford, Wilkins, and Ball 2007). In the African context, we argue that fewer women are included in the cabinet when incumbents use ministerial positions primarily as patronage appointments to secure the support of politicians who represent ethnic constituencies.…”

“…Previous studies of executive cabinets around the world indicate that women are less likely to become ministers in countries where appointments are the product of coalition negotiations (Dahlerup and Freidenvall 2005;Kobayashi 2004;Krook and O'Brien 2012;Studlar and Moncrief 1997;Reynolds 1999b;Whitford, Wilkins, and Ball 2007). In the African context, however, ethnic patrons rather than political parties are the relevant coalition partners.…”

“…Given the great concentration of authority in the African executive, any effort to understand the conditions under which women can penetrate the highest reaches of national politics must focus on the factors that impinge on their appointment as cabinet ministers. Previous cross-national research on women's appointment to ministerial positions has offered important insights on the influence of institutional structures and political ideologies (Davis 1997;EscobarLemmon and Taylor-Robinson 2005;Krook and O'Brien 2012;Reynolds 1999aReynolds , 1999bRussell and DeLancey 2002;Siaroff 2000). However, far less is known about how informal politics might affect their appointment to state offices despite the fact that extraconstitutional practices often play an outsized role in shaping political outcomes in many countries, not just those of sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…Much of this growth can be attributed to the region's political liberalization since the late 1980s (Bauer 2011;Russell and DeLancey 2002), replicating a worldwide association between greater democracy and improved women's cabinet participation (Davis 1997;Krook and O'Brien 2012;Reynolds 1999b). Yet, despite the evident improvement in African women's access to cabinet positions, cross-national variation in the region has also grown since the onset of political liberalization.…”

The Impact of Electoral Reform on Women's Representation

“…As discussed earlier in this volume, electoral reform involves multiple alternatives ranging from more modest amendments to the current Dutch 1918 1922 1925 1929 1933 1937 1946 1948 1952 1956 1959 1963 1967 1971 1972 1977 1981 1982 1986 1989 1994 1998 2002 2003 2005 % of women Figure 1 The growth in the proportion of women members in the Tweede Kamer, 1918Kamer, -2005 (Norris, 1985;Matland, 1998;Reynolds, 1999;Kenworthy and Malami, 1999;Siaroff, 2000;Moser, 2001). This pattern holds both within established democracies and also across a broader range of developing societies worldwide.…”