Depois de eleitas : os desafios de deputadas federais para o exercício do mandato

Abstract

PROBLEMATIC: The problematic of this article covers the analysis of the difficulties that female federal deputies face after being elected to office. After being elected, are they treated equally by the parties and the House in relation to the deputies? What specific difficulties do they face in exercising their mandate? OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to assess what are the main obstacles that female members of Congress face during their term of office, based on their own perceptions. METHODS: The methodological strategies consist of three stages. Firstly, for exploratory purposes, an online focus group was conducted with advisors to female congresswomen in order to capture the perceptions of those who deal directly with them on a daily basis and are familiar with the problems they face. Secondly, based on the preliminary results of the focus group, a survey with closed and open questions was carried out with four paired groups: (a) advisors of the offices of the parliamentarians in Brasilia; (b) advisors of their offices in the states; (c) advisors of the party leaderships; (d) advisors of the standing committees of the House, totaling 506 respondents. The last stage of the research consisted of face-to-face interviews with the women deputies themselves, with the objective of hearing directly from them how they face the problems resulting from the condition of being a woman. RESULT: The results show that the obstacles are not restricted to the pre-electoral period, but permeate the entire mandate of the women already elected, thus hindering the advancement and consolidation of female political representation in Brazil in the Legislative Branch.Legislative Branch. CONCLUSIONS: The conclusions show that the election of female representatives is not enough, but mainly the existence of institutional conditions so that women can fully exercise their role as political subjects.fully exercise their role as political subjects, that is, that the representatives can effectively exercise their mandate in harmony with the causes they defend, on behalf of the social groups they represent.