Gender inequality in politics

The inequality between genders is present in different aspects of life in society, including politics. Historically, this is a sector dominated by men, which can be explained, on the one hand, by the traditional roles of gender; and, on the other hand, by the exclusion promoted by the political field itself (Secretaria de Política para as Mulheres, 2014).

Although the Brazilian Electoral law states that at least 30% of the candidates must be women, in the 2014 Brazilian general elections, among 13,642 candidates, only 3,955 were women; which represents 28.99% of the total (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, 2014).

In addition to the insufficient number of female candidates, the parties do not invest at campaigns of women candidates as much as they invest at campaigns of men candidates. As consequence the imbalance continues. Despite the fact that women represent 51.1% of the Brazilian population, they occupy only few federal elective political positions, as showed bellow:

•          Among the 27 states’ governors, only 2 are women

•          Among the 513 Deputies, only 45 are women

•          Among 81 Senators, only 10 are women 

(Data: Supreme Electoral Court of Brazil)

The increase of number of female politicians is important to allow women to speak for themselves and, thereby, enlarge the plurality of “power-discourse” (Harvey, 1989). When parties do not provide the conditions to women reach power, they are denying pluralism and consequently decreasing the acceptance that other voices, beyond male ones, are authentic and legitimate.

Therefore, the supremacy of men in politics is a way to maintain the traditional role of gender and the division of labour. In this sense, the unequal distribution of political power affects other fields of society life that go beyond politics. For this reason, this issue deserves attention of Governments and citizens.  

Carlota Queirós (1892-1982)
First female Deputy in Latin America

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Harvey, David. The condition of postmodernity. Vol. 14. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989.

Secretaria de Política para as Mulheres (2014). Mais mulheres no poder

[Available at <http://www.mulheres.gov.br/mais-mulheres-no-poder/>] [Accessed at 15 October 2014].

Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (2014). Estatísticas Eleitorais 2014. [online] [Available at < http://www.tse.jus.br/eleicoes/estatisticas/estatisticas-candidaturas-2014/estatisticas-eleitorais-2014>] [Accessed at 15 October 2014].