Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-06T18:41:56.826Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Presidentas Rise: Consequences for Women in Cabinets?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Catherine Reyes-Housholder
Catherine Reyes-Housholder*
Affiliation:
Department of Government at Cornell University. cgr46@cornell.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Since 1999, women have democratically won the presidency eight times in Latin America and have named hundreds of ministers. This study argues that under certain conditions, presidentas are more likely than male presidents to improve women's cabinet representation. Two mechanisms, presidenta mandates and gendered networks, appear to drive the relationship. Furthermore, because the pool of ministerial candidates is shallower for women than for men, presidentas are most likely to advance women's representation in cabinets at the beginning of their term and for “feminine” ministries. A case study of Michelle Bachelet's 2006 ministerial appointments reveals initial evidence for the argument. Empirical implications are then tested with an original dataset of 1,908 ministers of all democratically elected Latin American presidents since 1999. Model results are consistent with the theory that presidentas are most likely to “make a difference” when they are least constrained by the supply of female ministerial candidates.

Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , Fall 2016 , pp. 3 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2016

References

Alcaíno Padilla, Rodrigo. 2006. La propuesta de ominami. El Mercurio (Santiago), January 21. http://diario.elmercurio.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
AmericasBarometer. 2004–2012. Latin American Public Opinion Project (Lapop). www.LapopSurveys.org.Google Scholar
Amorim Neto, Octavio. 2006. The Presidential Calculus: Executive Policy Making and Cabinet Formation in the Americas. Comparative Political Studies 39, 4: 415–40.Google Scholar
Angrist, Joshua David, and Pischke, Jorn-Steffen. 2008. Mostly Harmless Econometrics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Annesley, Claire. 2015. Rules of Ministerial Recruitment. Politics & Gender 11, 4: 618–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archivo Chile. 2006. Discurso Presidenta Michelle Bachelet. March 11. www.archivochile.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Arriola, Leonardo R., and Johnson, Martha C.. 2014. Ethnic Politics and Women's Empowerment in Africa: Ministerial Appointments to Executive Cabinets. American Journal of Political Science 58, 2: 495–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Astorga, Luz María. 2006. Se asoma el nuevo gabinete. El Mercurio, January 13. www.emol.cl. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and O'Brien, Diana Z.. 2015. Defending the Realm: the Appointment of Female Defense Ministers Worldwide. Paper presented at the 4th European Conference on Politics and Gender, Uppsala, June 11–13.Google Scholar
Beckwith, Karen. 2000. Beyond Compare? Women's Movements in Comparative Perspective. European Journal of Political Research 37, 4: 431–68.Google Scholar
Bjarnegård, Elin. 2013. Gender, Informal Institutions and Political Recruitment: Explaining Male Dominance in Parliamentary Representation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Borelli, MaryAnne. 2002. The President's Cabinet: Gender, Power, and Representation. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Camerlo, Marcelo, and Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2015. Minister Turnover, Critical Events, and the Electoral Calendar in Presidential Democracies. Journal of Politics 77, 3: 608–19.Google Scholar
Carroll, Royce, and Cox, Gary W.. 2007. The Logic of Gamson's Law: Pre-election Coalitions and Portfolio Allocations. American Journal of Political Science 51, 2: 300–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2015. Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/world-leaders-1/. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Claveria, Silvia. 2014. Still a “Male Business”? Explaining Women's Presence in Executive Office. West European Politics 37, 5: 1156–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowder-Meyer, Melody. 2013. Gendered Recruitment without Trying: How Local Party Recruiters Affect Women's Representation. Politics & Gender 9, 4: 390–413.Google Scholar
Davis, Rebecca Howard. 1997. Women and Power in Parliamentary Democracies: Cabinet Appointments in Western Europe, 1968–1992. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Dewan, Torun and Myatt, David P.. 2010. The Declining Talent Pool of Government. American Journal of Political Science 54, 2: 267–86.Google Scholar
Dewan, Torun and Myatt, David P.. 2012. Dynamic Government Performance: Honeymoons and Crises of Confidence. American Political Science Review 106, 1: 123–45.Google Scholar
Dollar, David, Fisman, Raymond, and Gatti, Roberta. 2001. Are Women Really the “Fairer” Sex? Corruption and Women in Government. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 46, 4: 423–29.Google Scholar
Dovi, Suzanne. 2002. Preferable Descriptive Representatives: Or Will Just Any Woman, Black or Latino Do? American Political Science Review 96: 745–54.Google Scholar
Economía y Negocios. 2006. Gabinete: Lo que tienen las carpetas. February 6. www.economiaynegocios.cl. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Escobar-Lemmon, María, and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle. 2005. Women Ministers in Latin American Government: When, Where, and Why? American Journal of Political Science 49, 4: 829–44.Google Scholar
Escobar-Lemmon, María, and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle. 2009. Getting to the Top: Career Paths of Women in Latin American Cabinets. Political Research Quarterly 62, 4: 685–99.Google Scholar
Escobar-Lemmon, María, and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle. 2014. Minorities Not Tokens: toward Gender Equality within Cabinets. Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, August 28–31.Google Scholar
Fernández de Kirchner, Cristina. 2007. Asunción de Cristina Kirchner. December 10. www.cfkargentina.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan. 2016. Disrupting Informal Institutions? Cabinet Formation in Chile in 2006 and 2014. In Staab and Waylen 2016. 67–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerring, John. 2007. Case Study Research Principles and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
González, David. 1999. In Panama's New Dawn, Woman Takes over. New York times, September 2. www.nytimes.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Heath, Roseanna Michelle, Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A., and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle M.. 2005. Women on the Sidelines: Women's Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures. American Journal of Political Science 49, 2: 420–36.Google Scholar
Helmke, Gretchen, and Levitsky, Steven. 2006. Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Hinojosa, Magda. 2012. Selecting Women, Electing Women: Political Representation and Candidate Selection in Latin America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Huber, John, and Martínez, Cecilia. 2008. Replacing Cabinet Ministers: Patterns of Ministerial Stability in Parliamentary Democracies. American Political Science Review 102, 2: 169–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Indridason, Indridi H., and Kam, Christopher. 2008. Cabinet Reshuffles and Ministerial Drift. British Journal of Political Science 38, 4: 621–56.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Norris, Pippa. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2016. Women in Parliaments: World and Regional Averages. Database. www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm.Google Scholar
Jalalzai, Farida. 2016. Women Presidents of Latin America: Beyond Family Ties? New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jalalzai, Farida, and dos Santos, Pedro G.. 2015. The Dilma Effect? Women's Representation under Dilma Rousseff's Presidency. Politics & Gender 11, 1: 117–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenny, Meryl. 2013. Gender and Political Recruitment: Theorizing Institutional Change. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert, Hawkins, Kirk, Pablo Luna, Juan, Rosas, Guillermo, and Zechmeister, Elizabeth J.. 2010. Latin American Party Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krook, Mona L., and O'Brien, Diana Z.. 2012. All the President's Men? the Appointment of Female Cabinet Ministers Worldwide. Journal of Politics 74, 3: 840–55.Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena, and Mackay, Fiona, eds. 2010. Gender, Politics and Institutions: Towards a Feminist Institutionalism. 2010 ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven, and Roberts, Kenneth M.. 2011. The Resurgence of the Latin American Left. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Light, Paul. 1999. The President's Agenda: Domestic Policy Choice from Kennedy to Clinton. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? a Contingent “Yes.” Journal of Politics 61, 3: 627–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsden, Peter. 1988. Homogeneity in Confiding Relations. Social Networks 10, 1: 57–76.Google Scholar
Martin, Janet M. 1988. Frameworks for Cabinet Studies. Presidential Studies Quarterly 18, 4: 793–814.Google Scholar
Martínez-Gallardo, Cecilia. 2012. Out of the Cabinet: What Drives Defections from the Government in Presidential Systems? Comparative Political Studies 45, 1: 62–90.Google Scholar
Martínez-Gallardo, Cecilia, and Schleiter, Petra. 2015. Choosing Whom to Trust: Agency Risks and Cabinet Partisanship in Presidential Democracies. Comparative Political Studies 48, 2: 231–64.Google Scholar
McPherson, Joseph Miller, and Smith-Lovin, Lynn. 1986. Sex Segregation in Voluntary Associations. American Sociological Review 51, 1: 61–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El Mercurio (Santiago). 2006. Diputado Burgos: No estoy de acuerdo con paridad en el gabinete. January 26. www.emol.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Murillo, María Victoria, Oliveros, Virginia, and Vaishnav, Milan. 2010. Electoral Revolution or Democratic Alternation? Latin American Research Review 45, 3: 87–114.Google Scholar
La Nación (San José, Costa Rica). 2010. Discurso de toma de posesión de Laura Chinchilla. May 8. www.nacion.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Navia, Patricio. 2007. El tercero es el vencido. Anuario La Tercera. https://files.nyu.edu. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
O'Brien, Diana Z., Mendez, Matthew, Carr Peterson, Jordan, and Shin, Jihyun. 2015. Letting down the Ladder or Shutting the Door: Female Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, and Cabinet Members. Politics & Gender 11, 4 (December): 689–717.Google Scholar
Palácio do Planalto. Presidencia da República. 2011. Discurso da Presidenta da República, Dilma Rousseff, durante compromisso constitucional perante o congresso nacional. January 1. www2.planalto.gov.br. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Payne, Mark J. 2007. Democracies in Development. Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank/International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.Google Scholar
Phillips, Anne. 1995. The Politics of Presence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Reynolds, Andrew. 1999. Women in the Legislatures and Executives of the World: Knocking at the Highest Glass Ceiling. World Politics 51, 4: 547–72.Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A. 2010. Political Power and Women's Representation in Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A., and Mishler, William. 2005. An Integrated Model of Women's Representation. Journal of Politics 67, 2: 407–28.Google Scholar
Shugart, Matthew Soberg, and Carey, John M.. 1992. Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Siavelis, Peter. 2006. Accommodating Informal Institutions and Democracy in Chile. In Helmke and Levitsky 2006. 33–55.Google Scholar
Solinas, María Teresa. 2007. Rn Emplaza al gobierno a terminar con el criterio de paridad y con el cuoteo político. El Mercurio, March 24. www.emol.com. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Staab, Silke, and Waylen, Georgina, eds. 2016. Gender, Institutions and Change in Bachelet's Chile. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Swamy, Anand, Knack, Stephen, Lee, Young, and Azfar, Omar. 2001. Gender and Corruption. Journal of Development Economics 64, 1: 25–55.Google Scholar
Thames, Frank, and Williams, Margaret. 2013. Contagious Representation: Women's Political Representation in Democracies Around the World. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
UPI Chile. 2005. Bachelet reitera que habrá paridad de género entre colaboradores de su eventual gobierno. September 29. Retrieved from LexisNexus Academic database. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
UPI Chile. 2006a. Bachelet se reunió con los presidentes de la concertación para diseñar futuro gobierno. January 20. Retrieved from LexisNexus Academic database. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
UPI Chile. 2006b. Presidenta electa Bachelet cumplió con nombrar gabinete paritario. January 30. Retrieved from LexisNexus Academic database. Accessed February 5, 2015.Google Scholar
Wangnerud, Lena. 2009. Women in Parliaments: Descriptive and Substantive Representation. Annual Review of Political Science 12: 51–69.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Reyes-Housholder supplementary material

Appendix

Download Reyes-Housholder supplementary material(File)
File 53.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Reyes-Housholder supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download Reyes-Housholder supplementary material(File)
File 50.2 KB
Supplementary material: File

Reyes-Housholder supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download Reyes-Housholder supplementary material(File)
File 633.3 KB