Women in Local Politics: Experiences in Mainstream Governance

There is a growing global presence of women in politics because of synergized international effort to empower women. In the Philippines, women enjoy a more-friendly political culture compared to other neighboring countries. However, women remain a minority in influencing policy and decision making as legislators and chief executives. This research focused on women political participation in male-dominated mainstream governance. Using interpretative phenomenology, the political experiences of six local women politicians (LWPs) were analyzed vis-à-vis their political history and political challenges. Based on the results, the political history of LWPs is underscored by kinship politics. Their experience as lawmakers and chief executives provide evidence that women remain a minority in political decision-making bodies, despite a womenfriendly political culture. In terms of political challenges, LWPs reveal that barriers for women participation are ideological factors, political culture, economic constraints, and inexperience. Therefore, there is a need for local initiatives (a) capacitating women who are not from political families but who have potential in political leadership, (b) intensive training for aspiring and incumbent women political leaders, and (c) strengthening women-friendly political culture to reduce gender stereotypes through awareness and sensitivity workshops.