Gender, Political Dynasties, and Committee Assignments: Evidence From Indonesia

Abstract

The persistence of political dynasties in developed and developing countries has been an interesting puzzle as democracy does not automatically obliterate the domination of familial ties in politics. Prior studies suggest that women are more likely to be dynastic than men. However, it remains unclear on how parties are allocating dynasts into committees and whether it is gendered or not. This paper introduces new observational data on female parliamentary representation, dynastic background and committee membership of 575 sitting parliamentarians in Indonesia. The findings suggest that one in every four members of parliament are dynasts and the proportion among female lawmakers has increased from 42% in 2009 to 44% in 2019. However, the experience of dynastic women in relation to committee assignment is not uniform. The critical variable that influences their placement appears to be the political party to which they belong, particularly in terms of nomination and internal structure. This paper offers initial leads for future research endeavours in connecting the intersectionality between political dynasties and committee assignments in other countries.