Diane Zetlin

Women in parliaments in the Pacific region

The island states of the Pacific region are at the bottom of the international league table for the representation of women in parliament. Despite considerable efforts by international agencies and donor governments and by women of the region, progress on increasing representation is extraordinarily slow. Three major explanations for these low levels of representation can be identified. The most common explanation relates to cultural beliefs, while a second account locates the problem in womens socio-economic status. The third explanation argues that there are obstacles for women in the electoral and parliamentary institutions that warrant the introduction of legislated minimum representation of women. Each of these explanations contributes value to our understanding but each also has significant deficiencies, which are identified in the article. 就议会的妇女代表性而论，太平洋地区的岛屿国家可谓国际圆桌会议的垫底。尽管有国际机构和捐助国以及该地区女性的坚持不懈，提高妇女代表性的进展格外缓慢。对于这种低水平的代表性可以有三种解释。最常见的解释与文化观念有关，第二种强调妇女的社会经济地位。第三种解释认为，选举以及议会体制中存在一些障碍，使得妇女的代表性在立法上被最小化。三种解释都有助于我们对问题的理解，但它们又都存在着本文所指出的重要缺陷。