impediments to women in politics in Solomon Islands

Executive Summary

  • Topic: Impediments to female candidate success in Solomon Islands.
  • Current Status: Only one female MP in Solomon Islands; female electoral success is declining.
  • Underlying Issues:
      - Different standards of behavior expected from women.
      - Lack of financial resources for campaigning, critical for electoral success in Solomon Islands.
      - Dependency on influential local figures (brokers) for support, predominantly male.
  • Solutions Suggested:
      - Focus on electoral quotas and candidate training.
      - Funding women candidates could improve their chances, yet it poses challenges.
      - Strengthening networks for women candidates could be promising.

Introduction

  • Importance of Women in Politics: Gender equity leads to development benefits, such as reduced corruption and better government spending on health and education.
  • Current Female Representation: Among Pacific island nations, the rate of women MPs is very low; Solomon Islands specifically has extremely weak progress toward female representation.

Electoral Context in Solomon Islands

  • Election System: Unicameral parliament with 50 MPs elected through a plurality voting system, allowing all citizens over 18 to vote.
  • Challenges: High competition, low vote shares for candidates, and issues of vote buying.

Cultural Factors and Gender Imbalances

  • Societal Structure: Solomon Islands is patriarchal, meaning men hold the majority of leadership roles.
  • Economic Participation: Women are significantly underrepresented in the formal economy and education.
    - 50% and above have faced violence and economic disparities.
  • Agency of Women: Despite challenges, women are active in civil society and seeking leadership roles.

Women's Electoral Performance

  • Historical Participation: 72 women candidates have stood for elections since 1978.
    - Only two women have been elected; Hilda Kari and Vika Lusibaea.
  • Trends in Candidacy and Success: Post-2010 elections saw a decline in competitive performance for women candidates.

Impediments to Performance

  • Barriers to Candidacy:
      1. Aspirational Barriers: Normative constraints affect women's decisions about standing.
      2. Voter Preferences: Evidence indicates that while voters theoretically support women, biases may affect their actual voting behavior.
      3. Structural Barriers:
         - Different expectations of behavior for women than men.
         - Lack of financial resources to support campaigns.
         - Difficulty in accessing local brokers for electoral support.

Helping Women Win

  • Candidate Training: Current training is not effective enough to improve electoral performance significantly.
  • Quotas: Gender quotas have potential but face significant political resistance.
  • Funding: Providing financial support is complex due to potential for misuse and the existing financial systems that favor male candidates.
  • Network Building: Cultivating networks and associations focused on supporting women candidates is critical.

Conclusion

  • Takeaways for Practitioners: Training alone is inadequate to improve the status of women in politics; more potent initiatives are necessary to change social and structural impediments that affect women's electoral success.