Gender gaps in political participation in Asia
| Author | Shan-Jan Sarah Liu |
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0192512120935517 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512120935517
International Political Science Review
2022, Vol. 43(2) 209 –225
© The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512120935517
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Gender gaps in political
participation in Asia
Shan-Jan Sarah Liu
University of Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
Recent scholarship shows that the gender gap in political activity has diminished, particularly in Western
societies. Still unknown is how gender matters for political participation in Asia. Using the 2010 Asian
Barometer Survey, this article analyzes the gender gap in multiple forms of political participation in 13
countries. It also investigates how individual-level characteristics mediate the differences in men’s and
women’s political participation. The article shows that Asian men and women overwhelmingly vote at an
equal rate in elections, but gender gaps persist in other types of political action. This study shows that
gender remains the strongest predictor of political participation and suggests that Asian women remain
marginalized in the political arena. The results have important implications for how to progress gender
equality in the region.
Keywords
Political participation, gender gap, Asia, public opinion, gender equality
Introduction
Political participation is considered crucial for a democracy because it is a means for individuals to
communicate preferences to those in power. While varying factors can explain individuals’ civic
engagement, gender consistently remains a strong predictor of civic engagement across a variety
of countries. Although the literature increasingly demonstrates that gender gaps are closing in
some forms of political action in Western societies (Bode, 2017; Burns et al., 2018), research also
shows that women, particularly in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, still participate less than
men in formal politics (Coffé and Bolzendahl, 2010, 2011; Coffé and Dilli, 2015; Desposato and
Norrander, 2009; Espinal and Zhao, 2015). This unequal participation raises questions about the
legitimacy and effectiveness of the representation of women. While mixed findings suggest that
gender differences in political actions are context-specific (Kittilson and Schwindt-Bayer, 2012), a
comprehensive understanding of these patterns in Asia is still lacking. It is especially crucial to
examine the gender gap in Asia, as the region differs from previously studied cases. For example,
Liu (2018) finds that Asian women legislators do not serve as role models but instead discourage
Corresponding author:
Shan-Jan Sarah Liu, University of Edinburgh, 22 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LF, UK.
Email: sarah.liu@ed.ac.uk
935517IPS0010.1177/0192512120935517International Political Science ReviewLiu
research-article2020
Article
210 International Political Science Review 43(2)
women in the region from participating in politics. This is at odds with studies in Western contexts
suggesting that female politicians increase women’s political engagement. Therefore, there is rea-
son to believe that gender gaps in political participation in Asia work differently from those in
other contexts. Understanding how men and women behave differently in politics helps us under-
stand the extent to which Asian men and women differ in their political access, freedom, capability,
capacity, will, and desire. To address the gap in existing studies, this article explores two questions:
(a) To what extent do Asian men and women participate differently in politics? (b) To what extent
do standard explanations at the individual-level mediate the gender gap in Asia?
Using the 2010 Asian Barometer Survey (ABS), I conduct a systematic analysis of the gender
gap in multiple forms of political actions across 13 cases in East and Southeast Asia (ESA).
Understanding various forms of participation is important as scholars suggest that while differ-
ences in men’s and women’s political behavior exist, it may be that women participate differently
from men instead of participating less (Harrison and Munn, 2007). I find that the gender gap in
ESA is absent in voting but remains strong and consistent in other modes of political action. Also,
building on existing work arguing that resources and political attitudes affect gender differentials
in political participation (Verba et al., 1997), I find that resources and political attitudes help medi-
ate gender gaps only in some forms of political actions and only in some contexts.
Scholars have given insufficient attention to the gender gaps in political participation beyond
Western contexts. This article addresses the gap in the current literature by offering findings from
ESA, which are useful for two reasons. First, the findings address an area largely ignored in existing
scholarship. The Asian population is equivalent to 60% of the total world population, suggesting that
our current knowledge about political behavior is seriously lacking, since previous cross-national
comparisons of gender and politics have neglected ESA. Even when scholars study gendered politi-
cal participation in ESA, they focus on single cases or small-N comparisons (e.g. Buranajaroenkij
et al., 2018; Huang, 2005; Lee, 2019; Yang, 2017). To my knowledge, this is the first systematic
investigation of the gender gap in political participation across multiple countries in the region, mak-
ing it possible and easier to compare the gender gaps across ESA. Although variation exists across the
region, ESA countries still share many ethnic, linguistic, and religious similarities. ESA countries
also share similar paths, patterns, and histories of democracy, making generalization possible.
Building on prior single-case studies, not only does my systematic comparison enable a comprehen-
sive understanding of Asian men’s and women’s political behavior, but it also provides empirical
evidence for a theory contending that electoral participation is unique in Asia. As ESA is home for
new and unconsolidated democracies, this study opens the door for future inquiries regarding the dif-
ferent patterns and trends of gender gaps in political participation in ESA and beyond.
The second contribution lies in the implications for gender equality in ESA—a region that is
distinct from other parts of the world. ESA is home to over two billion women (United Nations
World Population Prospects, 2018). Some of these women have been active in politics for decades.
For example, women were major actors of the Philippines People Power Movement of 1986. These
political scenes show the need to examine how gender parity exists in Asian politics. Showing what
motivates and transforms women’s political actions could help close the gender gap in civic
engagement, which would consequently further the development of the region towards a repre-
sentative democracy. Hence, evidence from this study can help look into ways to tackle gender
inequality in civic engagement in ESA.
Explaining gender gaps in political participation
Resources are essential for the ability to participate in politics (Simonsen, 2018). Drawing on Burns
et al. (2001) and Verba et al. (1997), my definition of resources expands beyond traditional
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