Keywords:

Political Representation, Gender Political Science, National Autonomies, Female Deputies, Female Representation

Introduction

The relevance of the study is due to the persistent significant gender imbalance in political representation in the Russian Federation. Weak integration of women into political governance is also recorded when comparing Russia's positions in international gender equality indices: if in 2006 it ranked 108th by this indicator (The Global Gender, 2006), in 2020 it was 122 (Global Gender Gap, 2020). The low level of participation of women, who make up more than half of the country's population, in representation bodies entails limited access to political influence and power, which suggests a weakened articulation of their interests in various spheres of socio-political and economic space. At the same time, the Russian Federation is a multinational state, and within the framework of national autonomies, specific subnational political regimes have developed (Balancing claims ... 2017), which allows them to be singled out as a separate object of political research, and to form a typology and specificity of the regional electoral process. Cohabitation in the same territory forms a certain type of political culture, especially in places of compact ethnic residence and in low-urbanized communities, which can be reflected in the system of political actions, including selective gender preferences as one of the factors.

The object of the analysis is the legislative authorities and representative bodies of local self-government of the administrative centers of the Russian Federation national-territorial entities. The subject of the research is the level of female political representation at the regional and municipal levels in 27 national-territorial entities of the Russian Federation. The research aims to identify the influence of urbanization level and ethnic localization on the quantitative characteristics of female political representation in representation bodies. The population of the studied national-territorial entities reveals a different ethnic configuration, is ethnically heterogeneous to varying degrees, has a different format of residence, therefore, the study relies on a combined analysis of population localization data by Minaeva (2020). The set of research objectives includes a comparative analysis of the percentage of females in the representative bodies of the subjects of national-territorial entities with a similar indicator for the Russian Federation. Within the framework of this study, the authors suggest that the factors most often used in electoral political science and showing correlations with election results (the proportion of the urban population, the proportion of the Russian population, ethnic localization) can influence the morphology of female political representation in the national-territorial entities of the Russian Federation.

The problem of female representation in public politics has been an object in Russian political studies for a long time (Ryabova & Ovcharova, 2016). The study of the sub-federal level of female representation in government is a separate area in gender political science, as evidenced by a significant number of works devoted to the analysis of female participation in regional public politics (Kolesnik, 2009; Ochirova, 2010; Ochirova, 2011), and to the peculiarities of implementing female regional political career (Popova, 2013; Kozlova, 2019). The participation of women in representation bodies was studied both for individual subjects (Tarusina, 2005; Kozlova, 2016a; Milaeva, 2020), groups of regions (Devyatiarova 2014; Milaeva, Morozov & Siushkin, 2020), and for federal districts (Kozlova, 2016b; Kozlova, 2017a; Kozlova, 2017b).

Regional and ethnic electoral specificity allows conducting research, forming various groups of factors, and searching for significant correlations. The most important precondition for the politicization of ethnic identity is the territorial concentration of an ethnic group, since “spatial proximity creates conditions for political consolidation” (Pushkareva, 2012) and the mobilization of individuals. Within the framework of studying the specifics of political processes in ethnic formations, the main attention of researchers was fixed on the influence of different factors on political systems and the electoral behavior of voters. The researchers took into account various groups of factors: from socio-economic (Radnaev & Danzanov, 2009) to the level of urbanization (Zhidkin, 2002), ethnic localization of the population (Panov, 2019;), and ethnic and confessional affiliation (Grishin, 2006). The participation of women in the bodies of representation of individual subjects of the Russian Federation national-territorial entities was studied from the point of view of the gender approach (Shamarova, 2008; Fatykhova, 2011; Evseev 2016; Shafigullina 2018), however, a comprehensive study for all subjects at this stage was not carried out, and the influence of the ethnic factor on quantitative characteristics female representation was not the subject of study, which determines the novelty of the present research.

Materials and Methods

The empirical basis of the study is the biographical data of the deputies posted on the official websites of the representative bodies of the constituent entities, open data on electoral statistics of election commissions of the constituent entities, data from state statistics data from the information system of deputies of the United Russia party, and data from a service for finding information about elections and candidates. The survey results contain updated data for the elections of September 13, 2020. The number of representative bodies is based on the current deputies presented on official websites, and not according to regulatory documents, since the stability of the measured feature is rather low, which is associated with high composition dynamics due to declaration campaigns, by-elections and other reasons.

The present study used the method of statistical typological grouping of primary statistical material (quantitative indicators of female participation in representative bodies of 8 federal districts of the Russian Federation), on the basis of which indicators of the level of female participation in representative bodies of national-territorial entities of the Russian Federation were grouped. The comparative method helped identify differences and similarities in the configuration of the two levels of female representation models. The combination of statistical indicators according to the stated criteria allowed determining features of representation in various administrative entities of different types, and comparing them with similar indicators in the Russian Federation as a whole.

Results

The deputy corpus of the sub federal level of the Russian Federation is 6.579 people: 3.968 deputies of regional parliaments and 2.611 deputies of representative bodies of local self-government. The percentage of female representation in the total number of deputies of the subfederal level is 18.04% (1187 people). The percentage of women participating in regional legislative bodies is lower than in bodies of representation of local self-government of administrative centers of the constituent entities: 15.9% (631 people) vs. 21.29% (556 people). The range of representation in various federal districts is wide; therefore, the present research distinguishes four groups which combine the constituent entities of the Russian Federation according to the indicator of female representation with a percentage step of 10%: less than 10%; 10-20%; 20-30%; over 30%. Table 1 presents the data on the number of subjects included in one of the selected groups by federal districts.

Table 1 Distribution of Subjects by Percentage Groups of Female Representation
Federal district	Southern	Ural	North Caucasian	Far Eastern	Siberian	Northwestern	Central	Volga	Total
Regional level
Group 1. 10-20%	6	1	3	5	6	2	13	13	49
Group 2. 20-30%	2	1	1	4	2	7	2	-	19
Group 3. >10%	-	4	3	-	2	1	2	1	13
Group 4. < 30%	-	-	-	2	-	1	1	-	4
Municipal level
Group 1. 10-20%	4	2	2	4	2	2	5	7	28
Group 2. 20-30%	3	3	3	2	5	3	10	3	32
Group 3. >10%		-	2	1	1	-	1	1	6
Group 4. < 30%		1	-	4	2	4	-	3	14

Data on the composition of the female deputy corpus of the national autonomies of the Russian Federation are presented in Table 2, data on the percentage of the Russian population and urban populations are given on the basis of state statistics.

Table 2 Female Deputy Corpus of the Regional and Municipal Levels of the National-Territorial Entities of the Russian Federation
Subject	% urban population of the subject	% ethnic Russians	% females in representative bodies of the subject
			Regional level	Municipal level
Northwestern Federal District
The Komi Republic	78.1%	65.1	27.59	36.67
Nenets Autonomous Okrug	72.8	66.1	26.32	50.00
The Republic of Karelia	80.4	82.2	33.33	32.14
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			22.3	28.1
Volga Federal District
The Republic of Tatarstan	76.8%	39.7	16.16	26.00
The Mari El Republic	66.2	47.4	15.38	36.36
The Republic of Mordovia	63.0	53.4	14.58	32.14
The Republic of Udmurtia	65.8%	62.2	15.00	11.43
The Chuvash Republic	62.5%	26.9	11.36	9.30
The Republic of Bashkortostan	62.1	36.1	16.36	11.11
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			14.7	19.6
Southern Federal District
The Republic of Adygea	47.2%	63.6	16.00	23.33
The Republic of Kalmykia	45.4%	30.2	18.52	20.00
The Republic of Crimea	50.9	65.2	22.67	15.79
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			16.9	18.2
North Caucasian Federal District
The Republic of Dagestan	45.2	3.6	8.89	17.78
The Republic of Ingushetia	55.3%	0.8	12.90	20.00
The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic	52.1	22.5	20.00	30.30
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic	42.7	31.6	16.00	24.24
The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania	64%	20.8	12.86	6.25
The Chechen Republic	34.9%	1.9	0.00	8.00
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			11.9	17.3
Ural Federal District
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra	92.3	68.1	7.89	21.05
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	83.8	61.7	22.73	38.10
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			9.5	20.7
Far Eastern Federal District
The Republic of Buryatia	59%	66.1	12.12	10.00
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast	68.8	92.7	42.11	35.00
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	65.6%	37.8	14.86	35.71
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	20.75	52.5	50.00	40.00
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			19.9	22.5
Siberian Federal District
The Altai Republic	29%	56.6	19.51	25.00
The Tyva Republic	38.1%	16.3	22.58	27.27
The Republic of Khakassia	69.4%	81.7	16.00	48.28
% females in representative bodies of the subject in total			14.08	23.9

The quantitative model of female representation at both levels in the national-territorial entities of the Russian Federation duplicates the characteristics of the all-Russian one. There is a gender pyramid: the percentage of women in representative bodies of local self-government is higher than at the regional level. There is a gender imbalance (only 3 subjects demonstrate the level of female participation both at the regional and municipal levels which can be considered relatively equal in terms of gender groups representation). More than half of the subjects (15) in the regional legislative bodies of autonomies have 10-20% of female participation, as in the Russian Federation on average. Groups with female representation of more than 30% and less than 10% are minimal. This also applies to the local level of female representation, but the main number of subjects (11) at this level shows a significant shift towards an increase – 30-50%. The percentage of female political representation in 19 regional legislatures and 20 local government bodies of administrative centers of ethnic autonomies is higher than in the federal districts they are part of, and higher than at the sub-federal level of representation in Russia as a whole. There is a group of subjects that do not correspond to the general trend: three subjects (Buryatia, Chechnya, Chuvashia) show indicators below the average (less than 10%) in terms of female representation both at the level of regional legislative power and at the level of local representation. At the same time, these subjects are not comparable with each other either in terms of territoriality, urbanization level, the percentage of the Russian population or of the type of ethnic localization. The only exception is Chechnya, where women are not represented in the regional legislature. The percentage of regional female political representation in Mordovia, Adygea, Dagestan, Yakutia and Khanty-Mansiysk is lower than in the Russian Federation as a whole; at the municipal level - in Udmurtia, Bashkortostan, Crimea, and North Ossetia.

In a number of representative bodies of national-territorial entities, the maximum percentage of female representation (40%-50%) is recorded not only in national autonomies but in Russia as a whole. Gender parity in political representation at the level of regional legislative bodies has been achieved in Chukotka, where women make up 50% of the deputy corpus. More than 40% of deputies in the regional legislature of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast are female. At the level of municipal representation, the maximum is recorded in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Chukotka and in Khakassia. Notably, this is the only feature that unites all the identified subjects; there is no direct dependence on the territorial distribution, the level of urbanization, or the ethnic composition of the population.

Discussion

The model of the female deputy corpus of national-territorial entities does not have a pronounced specificity against the background of other subjects of the Russian Federation. It has two main characteristics noted by the researchers in relation to female representation of the subfederal level in general: gender asymmetry and gender pyramid. However, the quantitative indicators of female political representation in most districts are higher than the percentage of women in the bodies of representation of the sub-federal level of the Russian Federation as a whole and in those districts that include national autonomies. An excess of the percentage of female participation in comparison with a similar indicator at the subfederal level is typical for the Northwestern, Far Eastern and Siberian federal districts. The percentage of female representation in regional legislatures and representative bodies of local self-government of administrative centers in the Volga and Southern Federal Districts, on the whole, slightly deviate from that of the Russian Federation and by districts. The lowest level is recorded in the regional and municipal legislatures of the North Caucasian and Ural federal districts, yet individual subjects show variations.

Based on the collected statistical data, it can be argued that the urbanization factor has only a relative influence: in 7 out of 8 subjects where the percentage of female deputies of regional parliaments is lower than in the sub-federal deputy corpus in Russia as a whole, the level of urbanization is 50%-66% which is lower than the same average indicator for the Russian Federation (74%). The exception is Khanty-Mansiysk, where more than 90% is urban population. In those regions where the level of urbanization is comparable to or exceeds the national average (4 regions), an excess of the percentage of female representation is recorded against the all-Russian background and against the background of districts.

It is possible to take into account the findings that reveal the influence of ethnic localization of the population on individual political processes (Panov & Filippova, 2015; Panov & Ross, 2018; Panov, 2019); however, it is difficult to draw an unambiguous conclusion regarding female representation. In general, there is no direct relationship: completely dissimilar indicators in terms of the level of female representation are demonstrated by the bodies of representation in places of segregated residence of ethnic groups (for example, Chechnya, Adygea), in regions with a high population dispersion (Udmurtia, Bashkortostan), and in partially mixed areas of residence (Tyva, Karachay-Cherkessia).

The level of female representation exceeds the federal analogous indicators in the national autonomies with the dominance of the Russian population (more than 80%) – Karelia, Khakassia and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. The influence of the ethnic factor is not detected and there is a diversity in the percentage of female participation in those national autonomies where the Russian population predominates in the ethnic structure of the subjects (55%-70%) – Komi, Udmurtia, Adygea, Crimea, Buryatia, Altai, Khanty-Mansiysk, Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs. In those national-territorial entities where the percentage of the Russian and ethnic population is approximately the same and the difference is no more than 5% (Mari El, Mordovia, Chukotka), there are high percentages of female representation at the level of municipal representative bodies of administrative centers of the constituent entities in comparison with the average federal level where the Russian population predominates. National-territorial autonomies with more than 80% of the ‘titular’ ethnic population (94.1% of the Ingush, 95.3% of Chechens and 82% of Tuvinians) do not allow speaking of the important influence of a separate ethnic factor: in the North Caucasian republics, the percentage of female representation is lower than the average at the subfederal level, in Ingushetia, female representation is higher than in the district as a whole, in Tyva there is a significant excess of female participation both in comparison with the average federal level and in the district. This requires consideration of an extended set of enablers. In national autonomies with 50-60% of the ‘titular population’ (57.4% of Kalmyks, 57.2% of Kabardians, 65.1% of Ossetians, 53.2% of Tatars, 67.7% of the Chuvash, and 49.9% of Yakuts), female representation does not depend on the ethnic factor, and a variety of models is typical both at the regional and at the municipal level. Multiethnic national autonomies where no nationality predominates (Bashkortostan, Karachay-Cherkessia, Dagestan), female representation does not depend on the ethnic factor, and a variety of models is characteristic: in Bashkortostan and Karachay-Cherkessia, the percentage of female participation at the regional level is slightly higher than the average for the Russian Federation and the district; in Dagestan it is noticeably lower. At the level of the municipality, the percentage of female representation in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and Dagestan slightly exceeds the norm, while in the representative bodies of the Republic of Bashkortostan it is noticeably lower than the average for the Russian Federation and in the district.

Conclusion

Equality in the representation of the interests of various social and gender groups is a parameter of the legitimacy of a quantitative type of power, but the bodies of the Russian Federation show the informal institutionalization of gender imbalance, since no significant increase of female participation over the past 20-25 years has been observed. The results of the present research show no noticeable influence of such factors as the proportion of the urban population, the percentage of the Russian population, or ethnic localization on the quantitative indicators of female participation in representative bodies of the national-territorial entities of the Russian Federation. The model of female representation is characterized by morphology similar to the average Russian indicators both at the regional and municipal levels. Despite the excess of female participation in most of the surveyed subjects in comparison with the average for the Russian Federation, gender imbalance and gender pyramid in representative bodies of national-territorial entities continue to be the main characteristics. This indicates the relevance of a research aimed at fixing the real situation in relation to gender equality in political representation. At the same time, aggregate statistical data can become one of the tools to form state programs on gender representation at various levels of government, including substantiation of such political practices as gender quotas which have proven their effectiveness in the international political space.

Acknowledgements

The study was sponsored by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Expert Institute for Social Research within the framework of the scientific project No. 20-011-31091.

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