Transnational organizing, the boosting effect, and women’s legislative caucuses in Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT The share of women holding legislative office in Africa more than doubled between 1998 and 2019, reaching almost 24%. Despite this increase in women's descriptive representation, women members of parliaments (MPs) continue to encounter exclusionary masculinized environments. One way to facilitate women’s work in these male-dominated parliaments is through the creation of Women’s Legislative Caucuses (WLCs). This article explores the diffusion of WLCs across Africa and examines the factors that influence caucus functioning. The establishment of WLCs in Africa began in 1993 with the creation of a women’s caucus in Ghana. Caucus formation sped up in the 2000s, peaking in 2007. This trend has touched all regions of Africa, with 38 countries having established WLCs as of 2015. We identify critical actors at international, regional, and national levels involved in WLC establishment and examine how their collaboration generates a boosting effect that amplifies the voices and gender equity work of women MPs and feminist civil society. We argue that transnational collaboration can boost domestic advocacy but only when it leverages global and regional resources in ways that bring domestically situated civil society organizations into the halls of formal political power.