KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

Abstract

 

Analysis of women proportional representatives on their roles and legislative activities in term of pursuing substantive representation

 

Eun Kyung Kim

Bok Tae Kim

Sooyeon Lee

Minjeoung Kim

SunYoung Jeon

 

This study aims to find out how much women proportional representatives, which are combined with the women quota system, pursue substantive representation in legislative activities from the adoption of the quota system for women candidates in the 17th general election in 2004 and until the 20th National Assembly. To this end, the legislative activities of women legislators were analyzed, and the level of perception was investigated through a questionnaire survey targeting women legislators.

 

First, we will examine how the female legislators who have been recruited to politics as proportional representatives are aware of their roles and whether there are differences from those expected by women's organizations.

 

Second, it examines what activities of women legislators of proportional representatives are doing to realize women's representation in the National Assembly and within political parties, what are their limitations, and what kind of political opportunity structures are provided to them by parties.

 

Finally, it seeks to see what kind of efforts are needed in the National Assembly and political parties to raise the gender awareness of women legislators of proportional representatives and enable them to carry out their activities as women representatives.

 

The analysis resulted that women proportional representatives contributed more to enhancing ‘substantive representation’ than women legislators of districts. Even if they acted as a member of the district after the proportional representation, it remained high the level of interest in the substantive representation of women. In the legislative activities among women legislators, legislative productivity was witnessed higher in first-elected than re-elected or more, and in the experienced proportional representatives than those without proportional experience. It was found that the group of experienced proportional representation made 4.6 more proposals for gender equality per capita than the group without the experience.

 

In both the survey and legislative activities, former and current women legislators have the identity of women representatives, and in particular, women who have experienced proportional representation are found to seek more substantive representation.

 

Research areas: Representation

Keywords: women proportional representatives, perception of roles, legislative activities, political empowerment, political representation