Gender Quotas in National Parliaments: An Analysis Of The Contribution Made By Nominated Female Legislators in Kenya and Tanzania

Despite the gradual increase in the number of women leaders at national parliaments, their influence to national politics and policy remains low. The purpose of this study was to investigate the substantive contribution made by gender quotas in national politics in Kenya and Tanzania. The study was guided by two theories, the feminist theory and the liberal feminist theory. The feminist theory enabled the study to understand and evaluate the existing gender parity in a patriarchal political system. On the other hand, the liberal feminist theory enabled the study to assess whether gender quotas, a legal remedy to gender discrimination, were useful in providing gender parity in a political process. The study adopted a mixed method research approach by applying both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The quantitative research method was useful in illustrating the descriptive gains made by the adoption of gender quotas while the qualitative research methods was applied to the descriptive assessment of substantive impact made by gender quotas. The study employed content analysis of existing secondary data, relevant to the study. The research findings illustrated that beneficiaries of gender quotas have made notable contributions to legislation and political leadership in both Kenya and Tanzania. The study also identified common challenges that affect the effective engagement of nominated female representatives at the national parliaments. The study, therefore, concluded that gender quotas have influenced substantive representation of women in national parliaments, beyond the quantitative increase in representation. To counter the remaining challenges in the effective implementation of gender quotas, the study recommends the adoption of a more holistic approach to the implementation of affirmative action provisions aimed at addressing the structural barriers that exist. The study findings are significant to the policy-makers, nominated women leaders, academia and other stakeholders who are keen on realizing equal representation of women in political processes.