Opening Doors, Holding Space: Organisational Power and Informal Support in Women’s Access to Candidacy

Séminaire axe Partis, Élections, Représentation with Camila Montero, University of Innsbruck and Julia van Zijl, University of Birmingham

 

Abstract

Despite advances in women’s political representation, substantial gender disparities persist in many democracies. In the absence of electoral gender quotas, party organisations become key arenas where access to candidacy is enabled or constrained. This article examines which formal party structures are associated with higher levels of women’s candidacy and which informal practices support women once they enter the race. Using a mixed-methods design, we analyse 130 parties across eighteen established democracies using data from the Political Parties Database (PPDB) and original party-level sources, complemented by an in-depth case study of the 2023 Dutch provincial elections. Multilevel models show that procedural openness, such as intra-party democracy, is not consistently linked to women’s candidacy, whereas women’s representation in national executive committees is strongly associated with higher shares of women candidates. Qualitative evidence illustrates how informal support from senior party members shapes nomination outcomes and campaign experiences. The study advances party organisation research by identifying how organisational power and informal support interact to enable women’s candidacy in quota-free systems.