Gendered Political Recruitment in Myanmar: The case of the Democratic Party for a New Society

Abstract: With 10,5% women in parliament, Myanmar ranks number 157 out of 193 countries on the rate of women in parliament. This thesis aims at investigating the gendered institutions that influence women’s descriptive representation in politics through a case study on political recruitment within the Democratic Party for a New Society, DPNS, and their youth wing Youth for a New Society. The main research question of the thesis is how is political recruitment to and within the DPNS and YNS gendered? Parties are the key gatekeepers to political office and understanding the internal dynamics of one party contributes to the wider understanding of women’s underrepresentation and men’s overrepresentation in politics. This could make policies to change this pattern more effective. Interviews with DPNS party members have been analysed through the supply and demand model of political recruitment, with a feminist institutional approach. The analysis shows how informal institutions relating to supply and demand undermine political recruitment institutions that are supposed to favour women, such as a 30% gender quota. However, a women’s working committee is now trying to change this, mainly through establishing new formal institutions to counteract the informal institutions limiting women’s representation within the party.