Challenges in political parity: The power gap that persists in the Dominican Republic
Female participation in Dominican politics faces a complex reality. Although women make up 49.5% of positions in the Central Government, their presence notably fades as one scales toward the higher levels of hierarchy and economic decision-making. This landscape has been exposed by the Observatory of Political Participation and Parity, a platform promoted to analyze gender equity in the country’s power structures.
The data reflect that the greater the political relevance, the lower the female representation. A clear example is the ministerial cabinet, where only two of the 23 portfolios are led by women, which represents barely 8.7% participation.
Inequality in women’s political participation remains an inequality in the distribution of power. It is not enough to count how many women arrive; we have to ask ourselves where they arrive, under what conditions, and how much power they exercise once they are there.
Syra Taveras Pineda, Executive Director of CIPAF
Concentration of resources and local representation
The Observatory highlights that the institutions managing the most significant budgets, such as the ministries of Finance, Public Works, Agriculture, and Industry and Commerce, lack female leadership. This trend extends to local governments, where women hold barely 10.1% of mayoral positions, although they are the majority in vice-mayoral and municipal deputy director positions.
Key findings on gender equity
- Legislative Sphere: In the Senate, women hold 12.5% of the seats, while in the Chamber of Deputies they represent 36.8%.
- Political Parties: Only 12.2% of party presidencies are held by women.
- Justice System: Although women dominate the ordinary judiciary and peace courts, they do not head the high courts or the Central Electoral Board.
- Financing: Female candidates receive less financial support and face significantly higher campaign debts than their male counterparts.
Furthermore, there has been a recorded decrease in the number of elected women, going from 998 in 2020 to 940 in the 2024 elections, which represents a 5.8% reduction. For experts, these figures demonstrate that the gap is not due to a lack of capacity, but rather to structural mechanisms that limit real access to power.
Equality initiatives
These findings were presented during the Political Parity Promotion Week, a space for dialogue and training designed to address the barriers that prevent equitable representation. Among the highlighted activities, a political training workshop was held for 25 Afro-descendant women leaders from various provinces, featuring the participation of international figures such as Epsy Campbell Barr.
The initiative has the collaboration of various national and international organizations, reaffirming the commitment to continue working on building a more inclusive and representative political system for all Dominican women.
