Factors affecting women’s presence in municipal councils and the results of participation: case studies in Elazığ, Gaziantep and Siirt provinces of Turkey

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2015
Oğuz, Hazal
Although in the recent years there is a remarkable increase in the rate of women in local governments in Turkey, it is obvious that there is lack of women’s participation and representation in local politics organizations. Literature has emphasized the notion of gender equality through investigating the reasons of low level of participation and tried to explain participation problem with this notion heretofore. However, the reasons behind women’s participating or not participating in administration of municipalities and how women’s participation affect local policies are not comprehended and investigated enough in the existing studies. This is significant because female city councillors play active role in carrying out some policies and services related to issues in agenda of council and embracement of those as “policy of municipality”. Female members in municipal councils and female mayors can shape a decision taken in council or affect that decision on gender base by leaving other differences such as party membership, age, education aside. In this regard, this study investigates the factors affecting the existence of female mayors/co-mayors and members in municipal councils, how women affect local policy making process and political representation in local governments, and what the methods that can enhance women’s representation in local politics are. Findings from the in-depth interviews with female municipal council members/mayors from three different cities in Turkey are evaluated.

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Citation Formats
H. Oğuz, “Factors affecting women’s presence in municipal councils and the results of participation: case studies in Elazığ, Gaziantep and Siirt provinces of Turkey,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2015.