Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
11-2013
Abstract
Although home to the majority of the world's women, Asia is the continent with the smallest proportion of women in Parliament. Rarely studied from a comparative perspective, this article examines the uneven representation of women in the lower houses of contemporary Asian parliaments. While socio-economic modernization and industrialization are generally expected to increase the proportion of women in positions of political influence, we find that differences in electoral and party systems across Asia play a greater role than levels of female literacy, urbanization, or per capita income. In particular, Asian parliaments with strict quotas and a higher number of (three of more) major political parties had significantly more female MPs. We also found cultural attitudes supportive of women in the public sphere to make a difference along with multi-member districts and parties on the political left. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013.
Keywords
Asia, Parliament, Political Parties, Representation, Women
Discipline
Asian Studies | Political Science | Politics and Social Change | Public Administration
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
African and Asian Studies
Volume
12
Issue
4
First Page
352
Last Page
372
ISSN
1569-2094
Identifier
10.1163/15692108-12341272
Publisher
Brill
Citation
JOSHI, Devin K., & KINGMA, Kara.(2013). The Uneven Representation of Women in Asian Parliaments: Explaining Variation across the Region. African and Asian Studies, 12(4), 352-372.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1985
Copyright Owner and License
Publisher
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1163/15692108-12341272
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Public Administration Commons