Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T05:14:38.694Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Party and State in Cuba: Gender Equality in Political Decision Making

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2005

Ilja A. Luciak
Ilja A. Luciak
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the Cuban record concerning gender equality in political decision making. I begin with a brief overview of Cuba's system of government. I then examine the gender composition of the country's legislative structures, discuss efforts to strengthen women's political participation, and compare the inclusion of women into key state and party decision-making bodies. The article is guided by three main arguments: First, in Cuba's legislative structures, women have a greater presence at the national than at the local level, contrary to the experience of the United States and Western Europe. Second, despite the official position denying the existence of gender quotas, Cuba does implement measures of positive discrimination in order to strengthen women's presence in politics. Finally, Cuban women face a glass ceiling as they move up to positions of greater decision-making power, a reality faced by women all over the world. The excellent gender composition of Cuba's parliament is an apparent exception that confirms the following rule: The state of gender equality in Cuba's decision-making structures reveals an inverse relationship between the actual decision-making power of a particular institution and the presence of women. That is, the higher we get in the institutional decision-making hierarchy, the fewer women we find. The evidence presented in this article demonstrates that Cuba has not made as much progress in achieving gender equality in political decision making as some of the official data would indicate, and that women continue to be largely excluded from the most important decision-making bodies.The article is based on a report commissioned by the European Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.The author gratefully acknowledges the excellent advice given by two anonymous reviewers and the editors for revising this manuscript.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2005 , pp. 241 - 263
Copyright
© 2005 The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

II Seminario Nacional de Evaluación. 2002. Plan de acción de seguimiento a la conferencia mundial sobre la mujer de Beijing. Havana: Editorial de la Mujer.
Aguirrechu, Iraida, and José Quesada. 2001. Poder Popular. República de Cuba. Havana: Editora Política.
Alarcón, Ricardo. 2003. President of the Cuban National Assembly. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, March 20.
Alemany, Nieves. 2003. Member of the National Assembly; Member of the National Committee of the Cuban Women's Federation. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, March 21.
Álvarez, Mavis. 2002. Director of International Relations, Cuban Small Farmers Movement (ANAP). Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, November 13.
Álvarez, Mayda, et al. 2000. Situación de la niñez, la adolescencia, la mujer y la familia en Cuba. La Habana: FMC/UNICEF.
Anonymous. 2003. Member of the Cuban Communist Party; Feminist Leader. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, May 2.
August, Arnold. 1999. Democracy in Cuba and the 1997–98 Elections. Havana: Instituto Cubano del Libro.
Azicri, Max. 2000. Cuba Today and Tomorrow: Reinventing Socialism. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Bengelsdorf, Carollee. 1985. “On the Problem of Studying Women in Cuba.” Race and Class 28 (2): 35–50.Google Scholar
Díaz Sotolongo, Roberto. 2002. Minister of Justice; President of the National Election Commission. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, November 14.
Duerst-Lahti, Georgia. 1998. “The Bottleneck: Women Becoming Candidates.” In Women and Elective Office: Past, Present, Future, ed. Sue Thomas and Clyde Wilcox. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Echevarría León, Dayma. 2004. “Mujer, empleo y dirección en Cuba: algo más que estadísticas.” Havana (mimeographed).
Federación de Mujeres Cubanas. 1996. La Cubana: De Beijing al 2000. Havana: Editorial de la Mujer.
Freire, Eduardo. 2002. President of the National Candidate Commission; Secretary General of the Cuban Confederation of Workers in Havana. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, November 13.
García Brigos, Justo. 2003. Former Member of the Municipal and Provincial Assembly of Havana; Head of the Institute of Philosophy. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, April 30.
Htun, Mala. 2004. “Is Gender like Ethnicity? The Political Representation of Identity Groups.” Perspectives on Politics 2 (3) (September): 439–58.Google Scholar
López Vigil, María. 1999. Cuba: Neither Heaven nor Hell. Washington, DC: The Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean.
Luciak, Ilja A. 2003. “Gender Equality and Democratization in Cuba.” Report prepared under contract (CA/B7-6110/2000/02) for the European Commission (October).
Martínez, Leonardo. 2002. Member of the National Assembly; Secretary of the Commission for Productive Matters. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, November 12.
Mayoral, María Julia. 2003. “Constitute la asamblea nacional sus comisiones de trabajo.” Granma (March 18): 8.
Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas. 2003. Panorama económico y social de Cuba 2002. Havana: ONE.
Randall, Margaret. 1992. Gathering Rage: The Failure of 20th Century Revolutions to Develop a Feminist Agenda. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Rodríguez Calderón, Mirta. N.d. “Queda mucho por andar.” Havana: United Nations-Cuba office (unpublished report).
Ruíz, María Josefa. 2002. Member of the National Assembly; Secretary of the Commission of Education, Culture, Science and Technology. Interview with Ilja A. Luciak. Havana, November 11.
Smith, Lois M., and Alfred Padula. 1996. Sex and Revolution: Women in Socialist Cuba. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stone, Elizabeth, ed. 1981. Women and the Cuban Revolution: Speeches & Documents by Fidel Castro, Vilma Espín & Others. New York: Pathfinder.
Stubbs, Jean. 1994. “Revolutionizing Women, Family, and Power.” In Women and Politics Worldwide, ed. Barbara J. Nelson and Najma Chowdhury. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 190–207.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). 2005. Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World. France: UNRISD.