Women in politics: elites, party leadership and gender quotas in Brazil

• Grant number: 23/00105-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: April 11, 2023
• End date: April 10, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Ana Paula Belem Hey
• Grantee: Vanilda Souza Chaves
• Supervisor: Rosalind Campbell
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: King's College London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/06702-6 - Women in politics: debates on gender quotas and parity within Brazilian political parties, BP.DR

Abstract

This project describes the research activities to be carried out during the research internship at King's College London, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Rosie Campbell, as part of the ongoing doctoral activities in the Postgraduate Program in Sociology at the University of São Paulo (PPGS/USP). The main objective of this research is to investigate the gender dynamics within parties' governing bodies that affect the participation of women in politics. During the internship abroad, we seek to advance in the theoretical and methodological characterization of the thesis and, from the analysis of the data collected during the development of my PhD project, the aim is to thoroughly analyze the gender dynamics and the informal rules that operate within parties. For this, we will investigate: i - what are the mechanisms adopted by the elites to promote the participation of women in party structures; ii- how women's participation effectively occurs within Brazilian parties; and iii- what are the discourses and perceptions of party agents on measures in favor of women, such as gender quotas. In order to understand these dynamics, we will analyze in-depth one party from each group (left of center, center and right of center): Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT); Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (MDB); and Democratas (DEM). Therefore, the internship at the King's College London's Global Institute for Women's Leadership will be relevant to develop the theoretical stage of the project, addressing issues related to political capital, political elites, women in governing bodies and gender quotas, as well as the analysis of the collected material on Brazilian political parties. Finally, during the internship we plan to write two articles and thesis chapters, and to present the research findings on national and international scientific events. (AU)