Project description
How droughts impact women’s political leadership
Climate change and its associated weather-related disasters have a profound impact on vulnerable communities across the globe. In African countries, there is a pressing concern that droughts may inadvertently jeopardise the progress of women in political leadership roles. In this context, the ERC-funded Fem-LEAD project aims to unravel the intricate connection between droughts, public opinion and the representation of women in politics. With a unique approach and access to unexplored high-quality data, this project aspires to provide fresh insights, ultimately contributing to the discourse on gender, climate change and the electoral effects of disasters. The findings will shed light on how weather-related disasters are shaping the future of gender and governance on the African continent.
Objective
Fem-LEAD challenges present scholarship by proposing a new link between climate change and gender: What if weather-related disasters, such as droughts, risk hurting recent advances of women as political leaders in African countries? Focusing on droughts, public opinion and political representation, its objective is to gain theoretical and empirical insights of links between weather-related disasters and womens political standing. I pose two major questions; Q1. How and why do droughts affect the citizen demand for female politicians? Q2. How and why do droughts affect the supply of female candidates and the presence of elected women?
I develop and test theoretical expectations in two directions; First, on citizens demand for female leaders (Q1). This vein is investigated through three rigorous methods: I analyze observational data where geocoded information on droughts is connected to survey respondents across Africa and over time. Exploring mechanisms, I focus on South African drought-affected communities, using in-depth interviews. To test causal mechanisms, I implement creative survey experiments with information treatments on droughts and candidate preferences. Second, I study the electoral arena (Q2). I focus on droughts and local elections across African countries and especially on South Africa, with a unique complete register of candidates and representatives across wards for two decades. I also interview party gatekeepers and, finally, look at aggregated trends across countries.
I build on my long publication record and local network in the field. Having conducted pilot-studies, the inquiry of Q1 is feasible yet novel. Having access to high-quality data that no one has analyzed the study of Q2 promises groundbreaking findings. Fem-LEAD will result in a new theoretical framework and rich empirical insights. By investigating this link, I contribute with a new perspective to the literatures on gender, climate changes and electoral effects of disasters.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
405 30 Goeteborg
Sweden
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.