Gender Quotas and the Democratic Quality of Local Decision-Making Processes in Clientelistic Regimes

Project Information

GenderQuotas

Grant agreement ID: 792969

DOI

10.3030/792969

Project closed

EC signature date 27 March 2018

Start date 1 September 2018

End date 31 July 2020

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 152 125,05

EU contribution

€ 152 125,05

Coordinated by

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GenderQuotas (Gender Quotas and the Democratic Quality of Local Decision-Making Processes in Clientelistic Regimes)

Reporting period: 2018-09-01 to 2020-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Gender quotas are a widespread electoral reform aiming to tackle gender inequality in politics. A rich body of literature focuses on the impact of gender quotas on the articulation of women’s interests in national legislatures. Yet we know very little about the transformative potential of gender quotas for local decision-making. Do gender quotas challenge existing practices of local decision-making and advance democratization in clientelistic regimes? This research project investigates the impact of gender quotas on the democratic quality of local decision-making processes in the local councils of Albania. Do women push for transparency, accountability, and responsiveness? How does women’s engagement in local decision-making processes change over time? The project offers a unique and innovative perspective on the topic of gender quotas and democratization through the combination of theoretical and methodological approaches, original data, interdisciplinary approach, and comprehensive public engagement and dissemination of research findings. The proposal relates to a novel interdisciplinary approach that draws on studies of democratization, political representation, and feminist institutionalism. The project will enhance the knowledge and skills of the researcher by providing state-of-the-art training in data analysis and management, advanced knowledge of theoretical and methodological approaches, and scientific and transferable skills. The knowledge and skills combined with networking and collaboration will place the researcher in a competitive position among successful researchers in Europe.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The researcher has completed all work packages and is currently involved in the dissemination of findings. Specifically, she has submitted five articles in peer-reviewed journals, delivered eight presentations, submitted a research grant, taught two seminars, advised students, participated in teacher training courses, published a policy brief and a newspaper article. She also served as a member of the Mock Assessment Board for candidates of the Marie Curie Fellowship organized by the Uppsala Forum for Democracy, Peace and Justice at Uppsala University.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The main contribution of the research project is that findings challenge one of the main assumptions that is made about the implementation of gender quotas in Albania and more broadly clientelistic regimes. The assumption is that female representatives do not challenge practices of poor governance; Similarly with men, they reinforce the status quo. The findings of this research project reveal that this is not the case. Using natural language processing and qualitative analysis to examine the transcripts of 75 council meetings held in 2016 and 2018, I show that women are more likely than men to demand transparency and, further, the gender gap is more pronounced in councils where the implementation of gender quotas has disrupted male dominance – numerically speaking – the most. I also show that women are more likely to prioritize services that benefit the poor and disadvantaged groups. These findings are important as they can be used in public and policy debates to counteract the backlash against gender quotas. The second stage of the research project – dissemination of findings – focused on challenging assumptions through the publication of a research brief and a newspaper article that were widely distributed.

Image of the newspaper article, https://www.reporter.al/grate-kerkojne-me-shume-transparence-gjate-t