The "magic" number: women's critical mass and substantive representation in Angola

Abstract

This study explores whether and how a critical mass of women in parliament, after years of underrepresentation, translates into substantive representation of women (SRW). Critical mass in politics refers to a threshold number necessary to effect change in legislative contexts. It is rooted in the assumed causal relationship between two forms of representation-descriptive and substantive-implying that SRW depends on active political engagement. This paper offers a nuanced perspective by deconstructing SRW into a process and an outcome, and it suggests four potential scenarios that connect critical mass to SRW. Through a comparative within-case analysis of Angola, a country that witnessed the emergence of a critical mass of women through the adoption of gender quotas after a prolonged period of underrepresentation, this study reveals that SRW can manifest in multiple forms. This study challenges the assumption of a direct link between SRW and descriptive representation of women (DRW) by demonstrating that the impact of DRW on SRW is multiple and can proceed independently as both a process and an outcome. Ultimately, this paper underscores the need for a more comprehensive understanding of SRW in diverse political contexts.