2 results
3 - Ethnic Parties, Representation, and Female Candidate Recruitment in Myanmar
- Edited by Netina Tan, McMaster University, Ontario, Meredith L. Weiss, University at Albany, State University of New York
-
- Book:
- Putting Women Up
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 18 April 2024
- Print publication:
- 06 February 2024, pp 57-87
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Ethnic parties make up a significant portion of the electoral landscape in Myanmar politics. In fact, 48 per cent of the political parties that competed in the 1990 general election were ethnic parties, 62 per cent in 2010, 60 per cent in 2015, and 59 per cent in 2020. Between 1990 and 2020, the proportion of female candidates in Myanmar elections also increased. Are these two trends linked? Is there something distinctive about ethnic parties as a type, and do they more effectively facilitate women's political representation than their catch-all counterparts?
Existing literature highlights the important role of political parties in explaining varying levels of women's representation around the world (Caul 1999; Pitre 2003). Parties play a critical role in recruiting and selecting candidates, thereby contributing to the gender makeup of legislatures and political bodies (Tan et al. 2020). As we discuss in greater detail below, existing literature finds mixed results regarding the effect of ethnic parties. Broad studies on women's representation have often concluded that electoral rules and circumstances that benefit women can also be applied to other marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities (Matland and Taylor 1997; Caul 1999). Yet, others find a potential for competition between different under-represented identities (Lien et al. 2007), or express fears over patriarchal attitudes among specific ethnic groups that would disadvantage women candidates (Okin 1999).
Ethnic parties might therefore be less likely than catch-all parties to pay attention to gender inequalities (Goetz 1998; Holmsten, Moser, and Slosar 2010). However, ethnic parties seem to perform differently under different electoral rules. Ethnic parties in single-member districts (SMD), where voters elect a single candidate to represent the constituency by plurality or majority vote, have been found to include more women than their catch-all counterparts. However, ethnic parties appear to exclude women—that is, do not nominate female candidates—at an even higher rate in proportional representation (PR) systems, where parties secure seats in larger constituencies per the share of the popular vote they or their candidates win, without gender quotas (Holmsten, Moser, and Slosar 2010). This is perhaps because the nomination and candidate selection decisions in PR systems are more heavily concentrated among the party elite and provide more opportunity for patriarchal attitudes to dominate (ibid.).
Yet, existing literature also suggests a moderating effect of party institutionalization, rather than just electoral rules.
6 - Navigating Local Politics and Gender
- Edited by Netina Tan, McMaster University, Ontario, Meredith L. Weiss, University at Albany, State University of New York
-
- Book:
- Putting Women Up
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 18 April 2024
- Print publication:
- 06 February 2024, pp 143-166
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Conventional assumptions about women's representation posit that higher proportions of women will be found at local levels of government where barriers to entry are minimal than at higher levels (Mariani 2008; Eder, Fortin-Rittberger, and Kroeber 2016). Indeed, studies on established democracies have found that the number of women in politics decreases when one moves from local to national governments (Vengroff, Nyiri, and Fugiero 2003; Kjaer 2010). This literature has shown that lower-level offices tend to be more open and accessible to women (Brodie 1985; Lovenduski and Norris 1993; Vengroff, Nyiri, and Fugiero 2003). However, evidence of this trend is inconclusive in less established or newer democracies, where limited formal institutions and lack of political party activity might prevent women from entering local politics (Kyed, Harrisson, and McCarthy 2016; Aydogan, Marschall, and Shalaby 2016).
Existing literature on Myanmar highlights structural, cultural, and institutional barriers to women's political participation at all levels of government (Löfving 2011; Latt et al. 2017). Yet, the discrepancy between the percentage of women represented at the local level and at the national and state/region level in Myanmar in the late 2010s challenges the “pyramid” model of women's representation: that women will be better represented closer to the ground. Following the 2015 general election (GE), women made up approximately 13.7 per cent of all elected members of parliament (MPs) in the Union (national) parliament and approximately 12.7 per cent of all MPs in the state/region parliaments across the country (excluding military seats). Meanwhile, women represented less than 1 per cent of elected ward/village tract administrators at the local level across the country. Why was women's representation so low at the local level in Myanmar? Drawing on extensive qualitative evidence from local interviews and focus-group discussions (see Chapter One for details), along with secondary data on local elections and politics, we investigate how women participated in local politics and why so few female local leaders were elected in Myanmar prior to the February 2021 military coup.
Following the coup, the military suspended national and state/ region parliaments. The military has tried to maintain existing local governance arrangements, as stipulated in the 2008 Constitution. However, the democratic opposition rejects that constitution. In most of the country, the junta-controlled local administration has either completely broken down or is severely weak.
The Myanmar people's revolution against the military resulted not only major political change, but also considerable economic, social, and cultural change.