GENDER & POLITICAL PARTIES

Gender & Political Parties

What role does gender play in political parties

Introduction

The electorates of Latin America are displaying a marked lack of faith in political parties. Flawed electoral systems have encouraged corruption and abuses of power, leading to a lack of clear party identity and low voter turnout during elections. On the other hand, however, there have been clear changes in the ways agents promoting gender equality perceive the role of political parties. From the 1990s, the scepticism of the 70s and 80s regarding the chances of advancing a gender perspective through the state and political institutions has given way to more positive approaches. These bodies are now thought to constitute terrains on which political struggles can be conducted, being therefore possible to be changed and influenced from within. Political parties in particular, because of the role they play in political linkage, in the selection and socialization of prospective political representatives and leaders, have become the target of gender-oriented strategies aimed at increasing women's presence and influence, and at advancing a gender perspective through the political party system.

This paper will analyse the interaction of gender issues with political parties in Latin America in order to assess the relationship between them and establish under what circumstances political parties best incorporate gender demands and contribute to mainstream the gender perspective. In order to achieve this I will focus on an analysis of women's access and influence in political parties. A good indication of a party's commitment to gender issues is given by the number of women within its leadership structures, the initiatives it undertakes to increase the presence of women in different spheres of political decision-making, and how seriously it undertakes the task of promoting gender equality through its political activities. Emphasis will be placed on the issue of the political participation of women in leadership and elected political positions. This is because increasing the presence of women in decision-making positions has lately become one of the main demands women have made of political parties. Also, as the literature suggests, it gives a good indication about the commitment of political parties to gender issues (Lovenduski 1993). I will also discuss strategies used by women within these institutions, and consider their effectiveness in advancing the gender-equality agenda. This paper will claim that the tendency of political parties to be more or less committed to the advancement of gender policies are related to a number of aspects linked to contextual, institutional, and agency variables. My analysis focus on the context of Latin America, but hopefully it will provide some general guidelines that might help broadly identify when, and the extent to which, political parties commit to gender balance in processes and outcomes.

Hypothesis

Woman vote Democratic Party because of commit on issues that matter most to them like the new health reform and other social problems.

Women's Political Access and Influence

The presence of women in the structure of political parties

Despite recent improvements the number of women represented in leadership positions in political ...