Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Political Science
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Gang Guo
Second Advisor
Jeffrey Jackson
Third Advisor
Richard Forgette
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
The number of women in Latin American governments has significantly increased throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. However, women are still significantly poorer, less educated, and more prone to disease and death than their male counterparts. If women's representation is improving, why has their quality of life remained the same? Using quantitative methods and a sample of 18 Latin American countries over a time span of twenty years, this work evaluates the possible affects electoral, political party, and quota law institutions may have on the substantive representation of women. The findings support what is assumed in extant literature; the level of women's descriptive representation best predicts the level of women's substantive representation in Latin America. Electoral, party, and quota law institutions are important but they do not appear to be as vital to SRW as is DRW. The findings further suggest that micro-measures of SRW need to be produced in order to better evaluate the effects of policy on women's lives. Finally, it is noted that theories of legislative marginalization and critical mass should be explored as they may better inform the structure of future works on SRW.
Recommended Citation
Gillip, Mary A., "Women's Substantive Representation In Latin America" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 791.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/791