Glass ceilings: female underrepresentation in party machines

Abstract

Low female representation in politics is a phenomenon that affects several countries. In Brazil, numerous mechanisms were adopted to try to reverse this situation of inequality: affirmative quotas, financial incentives; however, these have proven to be inefficient. The present study investigated female underrepresentation based on the so-called glass ceilings, found in the analysis of party organization and in different strata of Brazilian politics: electorate, affiliation and party leadership. The raw data, which were obtained from the secretariats of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), show that the underrepresentation of women begins in previous decision-making stages, located within party organizations. The study showed a growing disproportion in the female presence as the importance or power exercised by the person occupying the position increases: majority in the electorate, less than 50% among affiliates, around a third of state leaders, and only 16% of leaders with prominent positions in national executives. Another relevant information, evidenced by the data, is that the percentage of women’s participation is higher at the local (municipal) level, and is reduced as the position of power (state) rises. The research also demonstrated that provisional and intervening state bodies, formed in completely closed and undemocratic processes, present an even greater problem of underrepresentation of women. In other words, democratic processes within party organizations favor female participation in spaces of power: the number of women in party bodies chosen by election is greater than those who appear in bodies nominated/appointed by a higher party body. Thus, at the end of the work, it was suggested the need to resume the debate in relation to the provisional commissions, disseminated across all parties and federative levels.