The Persistence of Female Political Power in Africa

National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series • Vol/Iss. No. 33838 • JOUR • • Published In • Pages: 1-60 •
By Anderson, Siwan , du Plessis, Sophia, Parsa, Sahar, Robinson, James A.

Abstract

Given that research on female political representation tends to be overlooked across many societies, this study investigates whether historical female political leadership influences contemporary female political representation in Africa. The authors hypothesize that precolonial traditions of women in leadership persist in shaping present-day representation. Using two original datasets—one from cross-cultural samples and one from previous elections—they find that ethnic groups with histories of female leaders have more women elected today, with results also show that many institutional factors have shaped women’s traditional political roles, and that the effects of historical colonialism have reversed much of their influence. The conclusion is that historical female leadership continues to affect modern representation, though shaped by institutional change.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
eHRAF World CulturesOther ResearchersDescription of women’s roles in traditional political structures
Standard Cross Cultural Sample (SCCS)Researcher's ownUsed questions from Whyte (1978) sample in developing coding process
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Other ResearchersMurdock’s (1967) sample was used
Election DataElectoral commissions, inter alia, and election reportsThe election data gathered were between 2011 and 2016.
Ethnographic Surveys of AfricaOther ResearchersSourced by Moscona et al. (2020).
OthersOther ResearchersAnthropology Plus, Articles published in academic journals

Hypotheses (12)

HypothesisSupported
Female economic activity is positively correlated with traditional female political power.Not Supported
Low frequency of historical female political representation will be positively correlated with historical gender inequality.Not Supported
Matrilineality is a significant positive factor for female political power in centralized states.Partially Supported
The level of political hierarchy beyond the local community is positively correlated with female political representation.Supported
The level of political complexity is positively correlated with historical female political leadership.Supported
Concepts of political powers will have a positive correlation with historical female political representation.Supported
Historical female political representation in a given ethnic homeland will have a positive relationship to contemporary female political representation in local elections.Supported
The impact of British colonial rule will positively predict female political persistence.Supported
The presence of Christian missions will not predict the persistence of female political power.Supported
The impact of colonists on ethnic homelands negatively predict persistent female political power.Supported
The slave trade will negatively predict the persistence of female political power.Not Supported
The direct intervention of colonists into indigenous political institutions will predict a decline in female political influence.Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jonathan.zhang