Jessica Weinfurter and Dr. Jessica Preece, Political Science
In an effort to promote female political participation in states with historically patriarchal political systems, many nations have implemented gender quotas. The belief behind this practice is that as female descriptive representation increases, women become inspired to increase their political activity, and society in general becomes more supportive of female political ambition and participation (Beaman et al.2012). The issue of gender quotas has inspired an explosion of research over the past decade. However, our current understanding of the long-term effects of gender quotas is still limited because many of the recent studies are focused on quota systems within developed or Westernized states. Currently, few studies analyze the effect of quota systems on female political participation in areas where local socio-cultural norms traditionally promote female subordination.
Uganda is one of the many African states to recently implement gender quotas, and by many accounts it seems to be flourishing under this new system (Tripp 2012). In the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s annual list of nations with the highest percentage of women in the lower house of Parliament, Uganda ranks 21st out of 190, with 31.7% of its current Parliament made up of female representatives (Parliament of the Republic of Uganda). While this data would indicate that gender quotas have promoted female political participation in the state, a recent report by the Ugandan Women’s Network, which follows female political participation throughout the nation, stated that many Ugandan women face discrimination and intimidation when they attempt to take a more active political role in society. Cultural barriers such as women being seen as “rebellious and unfeminine,” “[ignorance] of the ways they can take part in political activism,” and [intimidation] and fear [of] being beaten or abused as a result of being politically active” are reported to actually hinder women from seeking a more active political role (Ugandan Women’s Network 2011). This is reflected in the fact that female members of parliament make up only 11 of the 238 constituency (non-quota) seats (Parliament of the Republic of Uganda).
In this instance, although Uganda has been commended by many within the international community for its use of legal quotas to integrate women into its political system, it is unclear whether quotas have in fact motivated women to become more politically ambitious and active. It is possible that this juxtaposition of a legal system requiring active female participation with a culture discouraging female political ambition has actually created a situation in which Ugandan women are unsure of the political role they are allowed or expected to play.
To better understand the effects of gender quotas on the political ambitions of Ugandan women, I conducted a survey experiment in which I assessed the factors that encourage and discourage female political ambition. Research methodology included hiring local Ugandan enumerators to conduct the surveys, thereby preventing any racial bias from interfering with respondent answers. Through the efforts of the enumerators we surveyed 1,290 people at Makerere University. Participants were asked about demographics, political awareness and involvement, and to explain why they would, or would not, run for office. The qualitative analysis tested the coded data to identify correlations between demographics and themed responses.
Results show that gender does not influence whether Ugandan men and women run for office. Early tests analyzing the specific role of gender and education indicated that these two factors greatly influenced Ugandan political ambition. However, once other variables were added to these analyses we discovered both factors to be statistically insignificant, with just as many University educated men and women declining to run for office. Other factors, such as religion and political party affiliation played a more significant role on political ambition. Men and women with connections to the three most popular churches in Uganda (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Protestant) or to the leading political party (National Resistance Movement) were across the board more likely to become politically active. However, political discussion in the home, interest in political affairs, and familiarity with male and female district representatives had the largest effects on female political ambition.
These results highlight two important factors influencing Ugandan political ambition, networks and information gathering. Individuals who are able to network through religious congregations or political parties create a base of support. This base then plays an important role in indicating if the individual will have support in their desire to run for office and hands on support and volunteers when running their campaign. It may also be possible that the three most popular churches listed in the survey promote civic involvement amongst congregation members, working together to financially support members who chose to run for office.
For Ugandan women, specifically, information gathering is vital to increasing political ambition. Although it may seem obvious that individuals who more interested and informed about political affairs are more likely to run for office it is important to remember that in patriarchal societies such as Uganda, women are most often left out of political discussion. The results indicate that when women are able to participate in family discussion on political issues, they increase their knowledge on the local and national level, and that this increase spurs them on to political action.
Quota systems were installed in many countries as an attempt to increase female representation. While they’ve been successful in many circumstances, there are other factors that determine whether or not an individual desires to run for political office. Through this survey experiment we are able to see the importance of creating cultural support for female political participation. Engaging women in private and public discussion on politics, and increasing the information they have on political affairs will help build on the legal support created through quota seats. While these results give us interesting information on what affects an individual’s decision to run, there is room for further research. We can continue to further pinpoint what about these factors influences people and can find ways to use this knowledge to increase women’s participation in government.
References
- Beaman, Lori, Esther Duflo, Rohini Pande, and Petia Topalova. “Female leadership raises aspirations and educational attainment for girls: A policy experiment in India.” Science 335, no. 6068 (2012): 582-586.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. “Women in National Parliaments, 2012.” http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm (accessed October 26, 2012).
- Parliament of the Republic of Uganda. “List of Member of Parliament: The 9th Parliament, 2012.” http://www.parliament.go.ug/new/index.php/members-of-parliament/members-of-parliament (accessed October 26, 2012).
- Tripp, Aili Mari. Women and politics in Uganda. University of Wisconsin Press, 2012.
- Uganda Women’s Network. “Politics for a Purpose: Changing the face of Uganda’s Politics 2011 and Beyond.” Uganda Women’s Network. http://www.uwonet.or.ug/publications/?did=23 (accessed March 14, 2013).