Changes in the National Assembly’s Gender Sensitivity Due to an Increase in the Number of Women Assembly Members: An Analysis Based on the IPU’s Parliamentary Gender Sensitivity Survey

Given that the share of female members rose from 5.9% in the 16th National Assembly to 13.0% in the 17th to 13.7% in the 18th (as of October 2011, 15.1%, including seats succeeded), this study was conducted to examine the changes occurring in decision-making and parliamentary activities as a result of this increase in the number of woman assembly members. The results detail the changes triggered by the increase in female National Assembly members. First, the increase resulted in greater participation of women in decision-making processes such as the National Assembly Standing Committees, as well as greater influence by women. In the 16th National Assembly, the number of the Standing Committees lacking a female member stood at five. This figure, however, declined to three in the 17th National Assembly and to zero in the 18th. This clearly demonstrates that an increase in female National Assembly members can serve as a critical factor in the decision-making processes. Furthermore, in terms of the number of Standing Committee chairwomen and female Standing Committee secretaries, the proportion of women chairs immediately after general elections has risen slightly from 5.9% (one) in each half of the 16th National Assembly, to 17.6% (three) in the first half and 11.8% (two) in the second half of the 17th, to 18.8% (three) in the first half of the 18th. Second, along with their increase in number, female members’ parliamentary activities have become more prominent in terms of both quantity and quality. First of all, the proportion of female sponsors of bills was higher than that of their male counterparts in all of the three National Assemblies. In particular, the proportion was the largest in the first half of the 17th National Assembly when the share of female members rose from 5.9% in the previous National Assembly to 13%. The proportion of female sponsors exceeded the rate of representation of women in the three National Assemblies. Specifically, the initial half of the 17th National Assembly showed the highest rate of female sponsors relative to women’s representation. This suggests that through both cooperation and competition, an increased number of female representatives enthusiastically engaged in legislative activities at a rate three times greater than that of the 16th National Assembly, which included only a few woman assembly members. In terms of areas of interest, female members expressed a strong interest in welfare and education, and, notably, with the increase in the number of woman assembly members, their scope of bill sponsorship has been expanded to areas related to committees covering finance and economy, education, and land and maritime affairs. This seems to stem from the increase in the number of female legislators and a consequent expansion in the diversity of the woman assembly members’ specialties. Third, the increase in the number of woman assembly members has provided them a space not only to demonstrate consistent interest in women-related issues, but also to pay increased attention to a diversity of issues. Indeed, the share of women-related bills among the bills sponsored by female members was on the decline from 25.5% in the first half of the 16th National Assembly to 11.9% and 6.9% in the first halves of the 17th and 18th National Assemblies, respectively. At the same time, the average number of bills sponsored by a single female legislator grew from 3.2 in the first half of the 16th National Assembly to 17.1 and 24.5 in the same periods of the 17th and 18th National Assemblies, respectively, while the average number of women-related bills sponsored by a single assemblywoman stood at 0.8, 2.0, and 1.7 in the first halves of the 16th, 17th, and 18th National Assemblies, respectively. These figures indicate that an increase in the number of female legislators provided them greater fortitude for promoting not only women-related bills, but also more diverse bills across a range of areas.