Women Parliamentarians perceptions of political influence in the South African Parliament.

by Angevine, Sara

In this study, I examine how women Parliamentarians understand their political influence within the South African Parliament and what environmental factors contribute to this understanding. Currently, South Africa is a global leader for the amount of women in Parliament and has been since the 1994 democratic transition. This study examines the formal and informal factors that South African women parliamentarians discuss as helping and hindering their political effectiveness.

Aside from the work of Hassim (2003) and Pandor (1999), little academic research explores the experiences of women within South Africa’