Ethnicity, gender, and intersectionality: How context factors shape the intersectional (dis) advantage under proportional representation rules

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the contextual impact of proportional representation (PR) rules on the intersectional representation of gender and ethnic groups. We assert that the combination of the institutional and sociodemographic context generates barriers and opportunities for the inclusion of intersectional identity groups in politics. We analyse how the sociodemographic make up of the district electorate influences parties’ and voters’ behaviour within PR systems to shape electoral outcomes in Brussels local elections. We focus on parties’ list composition strategies and candidates’ personal score to determine parties’ and voters’ leverage on representational outcomes. Our research demonstrates that ethnic minority male and female candidates experience a similar advantage on their ethnic majority counterparts in the (s)election process, and that their advantage grows as districts get more diverse. We show that ethnic minority candidates’ advantage comes mainly at the expense of ethnic majority women, while ethnic majority men’s dominant position is not affected by the sociodemographic context. This research emphasizes the importance of local context factors for intersectional groups representation. Our study overall calls for a clear definition of intersectional categories and the social cleavage(s) they represent within societies in order to understand political inequalities and opportunities.