A Critical Analysis on Women’s Political Representation and its Various Justifications

Year 2023, Issue: 111, 193 - 213, 25.09.2023

Duygu Öztürk

https://doi.org/10.36484/liberal.1343295

Abstract

Compared to their population in societies, rates of political women’s representation remain very low. The fact that women do not or cannot participate in politics in proportion to their populations constitutes a problem of representation in democracies. It also means that women cannot fully benefit from their rights to vote and to be elected, which are one of fundamental human rights. In the literature, there are studies in greater numbers, focusing on why women should participate in politics. Differing from each other in terms of their theoretical and methodological methods, these studies offer different answers to why women should participate in politics in larger rates. This study examines studies on women’s descriptive and substantive representations in democracies in terms of the meaning of women’s representation and provides a critical analysis of the existing literature. It discusses what women’s
descriptive participation in decision-making and law-making mechanisms means for democracy and women’s representation, what is expected from women’s substantive representation and the effects of these expectations on women’s representation, and the relationship between descriptive and substantive representations of women.

Keywords

Woman and Politics, Political Participaton, Women’s Representation, Gender Equality

Project Number

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Kadınların Politik Temsili ve Farklı Gerekçelendirmeleri Üzerine Eleştirel Bir Analiz

Abstract

Kadınların toplumlar içerisindeki nüfuslarına kıyasla siyasi temsildeki oranları çok düşük düzeyde kalmaktadır. Kadınların sayısal olarak nüfusları ile orantılı bir şekilde siyasete katıl(a)mamaları, demokrasilerde bir temsiliyet sorunu oluşturmaktadır. Aynı zamanda bu durum, kadınların en temel insan hakları içerisinde yer alan seçme ve seçilme haklarından da tam olarak faydalanamadıkları anlamına gelmektedir. Literatürde kadınların neden daha fazla sayılarla siyasete katılmaları gerektiğine
odaklanan çalışmalar yer almaktadır. Birbirinden teorik ve metodolojik yöntemleri bakımından farklılaşan bu çalışmalar, kadınların siyasete neden daha fazla oranda katılmaları gerektiğine farklı cevaplar sunmaktadır. Bu çalışma ise, kadınların demokrasilerde nicel ve nitel temsilleri üzerine yapılan çalışmaları kadın temsilinin anlamı bakımından incelemekte ve mevcut literatüre eleştirel bir analiz sunmaktadır. Çalışmada kadınların sayısal olarak karar alma ve yasa yapma mekanizmalarında
yer almalarının demokrasi ve kadın temsili için ne anlama geldiği, kadınların nitel temsillerinden ne beklendiği ve bu beklentilerin kadın temsiline olan etkileri, kadınların nicel ve nitel temsil arasında nasıl bir ilişki olduğunu tartışmaktadır.

Keywords

Kadın ve Siyaset, Siyasal Katılım, Kadın Temsili, Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği

Supporting Institution

yok

Project Number

yok

Thanks

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