Political Ambition and the question of Women’s Political Representation
Article Information
Journal: An Open Access Peer Reviewed International Journal
Volume: II | Issue: 29 | Year: 2026
Pages: 303–313
DOI: https://doi.org/
Received: 10 July 2026
Accepted: 15 July 2026
Published: 3rd August 2026
ISSN: 2278-9758
Abstract
Men have more formal control over political representation since they possess a majority or a sizable majority of seats.
The women’s representation in legislatures significantly impacts a political system, indicating gender equality and
societal inclusion; however, their absence implies prevalent gender bias and discrimination. Women encounter difficulties
in the recruitment phase, in the selection phase, and in the election phase. Much of the reasons for women’s low
representation are because fewer women choose to run and the decision to run for office is driven by political ambition.
Therefore, understanding political ambition of women may constitute one step in resolving women’s under representation
because having political ambition becomes a strong stimulus to contest election and hopefully becoming an elected
representative. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of institutional characteristics, individual factors and
cultural factors which may have an impact in shaping political ambition of women. Factors that determine political
ambition of women are long-standing and deeply rooted. They include the way women are socialized into politics,
potential bias of political party and personal factors.
Keywords
Political representation, political ambition, women legislatures, socio-cultural factors, individual factors and institutional barriers
Notes and References
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and Gender 3 (1): 11–35. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510819X15728541544002
Atkeson, Lonna Rae. 2003. “Not All Cues Are Created Equal: The Conditional Impact of Female Candidates on Political
Engagement.” Journal of Politics 65 (4): 1040–61.