The Burden of Proof: Barriers to Women in Party Controlled Candidate Selection

• In Event: Who Stands Between Women and Political Office in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Party members have been shown to form significant barriers to candidacy, often being coined as gatekeepers. I argue that these barriers are magnified for women by the variation in informal selection criteria used by party gatekeepers. Both male and female candidates must satisfy the informal selection criteria. However, women must visibly demonstrate that they can satisfy the financial and network expectations of party gatekeepers in a way that men do not. There is significant burden of proof placed on women candidates that is not required out of male candidates. Through the combination of 100+ interviews, written candidate recommendations, and two surveys conducted in Zambia, the paper demonstrates the profound cost placed on women candidates who must visibly demonstrate attributes preferred by both local and national level party members. The surveys were conducted throughout the country with candidates from the 2016 election and party members who participated in the 2016 candidate selection process (selectorates) with sample sizes of 700 and 1,200 respectively. The survey experiment, which led participants through a hypothetical candidate evaluation process, further shows women candidates face greater cost in competing for nomination because they must visibly display desired attributes that are otherwise assumed of for male candidates.

Author

• Melanie Lauren Phillips, University of California, Berkeley