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Ballington, J., & Matland, R. E. (2004). Political Parties and Special Measures: Enhancing Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes. United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) Expert Group Meeting on “Enhancing Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes in Post-Conflict Countries”, Glen Coven New York, USA.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Public Perception on the Factors Influencing Women’s Political Participation in the Republic of Congo

  AUTHORS: Peter Tresor Miyalou, Chunyan Hu

  KEYWORDS: Politics, Women Political Participation, Discrimination, Gender, Political Representation, Republic of Congo

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.14 No.2, February 28, 2026

  ABSTRACT: Women’s political participation has been discussed worldwide. Countries, such as the Republic of Congo, are focusing on changing the situation regarding women’s political participation. Based on the global literature, this study examines the factors hindering Congolese women’s political participation. A mixed methodology approach and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Data were collected through an online survey using Google Forms with closed- and open-ended questions regarding the perceptions of Congolese citizens in the country and diaspora. Based on the findings, several factors cause gender disparities in the Republic of Congo, such as religious, cultural, social, personal, economic, and political. Political factors emerged as the most substantial barriers, with 70.9% of respondents identifying costly political campaigns as prohibitive (including 43% who strongly agreed, σ ≈ 15.2, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 38.1% - 47.9%) and 69.7% citing unfavorable electoral systems (σ ≈ 12.8, CI: 31.5% - 40.5%) as structural obstacles. The glass-ceiling theory has been used to explain the existence of gender inequality in politics globally and in the Republic of Congo.