The Uneven Representation of Women in Asian Parliaments: Explaining Variation across the Region*
In: African and Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Devin K. Joshi in
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Search for other papers by Kara Kingma in
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Abstract
Although home to the majority of the world’s women, Asia is the continent with the smallest proportion of women in Parliament. Rarely studied from a comparative perspective, this article examines the uneven representation of women in the lower houses of contemporary Asian parliaments. While socio-economic modernization and industrialization are generally expected to increase the proportion of women in positions of political influence, we find that differences in electoral and party systems across Asia play a greater role than levels of female literacy, urbanization, or per capita income. In particular, Asian parliaments with strict quotas and a higher number of (three of more) major political parties had significantly more female MPs. We also found cultural attitudes supportive of women in the public sphere to make a difference along with multi-member districts and parties on the political left.
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4
Grigorii Golosov (2010) provides a slightly different method for calculating ENPP.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 685 | 102 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 255 | 18 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 119 | 25 | 0 |
The Uneven Representation of Women in Asian Parliaments: Explaining Variation across the Region*
In: African and Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Devin K. Joshi in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Kara Kingma in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Although home to the majority of the world’s women, Asia is the continent with the smallest proportion of women in Parliament. Rarely studied from a comparative perspective, this article examines the uneven representation of women in the lower houses of contemporary Asian parliaments. While socio-economic modernization and industrialization are generally expected to increase the proportion of women in positions of political influence, we find that differences in electoral and party systems across Asia play a greater role than levels of female literacy, urbanization, or per capita income. In particular, Asian parliaments with strict quotas and a higher number of (three of more) major political parties had significantly more female MPs. We also found cultural attitudes supportive of women in the public sphere to make a difference along with multi-member districts and parties on the political left.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 685 | 102 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 255 | 18 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 119 | 25 | 0 |