Evolution of the presence and success of female candidates in Chile, 1989-2009

Abstract

introduces the explanations that are likely to account for the presence of women in elected
offices. Based on them, we analyze the evolution of women in elected office in Chile between the return of democracy in 1989 and 2009. We use data from 17 elections and 37.487 candidates. 19,4 percent of them, were women. And only 16,3 percent of the 12.161 candidates elected to either the legislature or local governments were women. The number of female candidates and their success rate have increased, especially in local elections. Moreover, we show that in elections with lower levels of proportionality —as mayors, deputies and senators— there are fewer female candidates and winners. Left-wing parties present more female candidates, whereas right-wing parties manage to get a higher rate of their female candidates elected. Finally, we show that the election of Michelle Bachelet as Chile’s first woman president did not have an impact on the number of female candidates or on their electoral success in the municipal elections of 2008 or the legislative elections of 2009. Institutional variables account for the higher number of female candidates in more proportional elections as well as their higher success rate both in local elections and elections with higher proportional representation.