Parliamentary Affairs

Prihatini,, Ella

doi: 10.1093/pa/gsz047pmid: N/A

Abstract Parliamentary committees are central in most modern legislatures in the world as key decisions are often made at this level. Consequently, women’s substantial representation in parliament is frequently measured by the appointment of women in powerful and prestigious committees. However, there is relatively little knowledge about how the politics of committee assignment operates, especially in Asian democracies, home to the majority of the world’s women. In this article, the Indonesian case is used to explore two issues, which are the gendered division of committees and the impact of Islam as a party ideology in assigning women to committees. Using a quantitative approach, this article examines a unique dataset of committee assignments in Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) from 2004 to 2014. Interviews with sitting parliamentarians are also used to complement the statistical analysis. The results show that gender bias is an enduring characteristic of Post-Suharto parliamentary politics and Islam as a party ideology is not solely accountable for this disparity in committee allocations. 1. Introduction Women’s representation in national legislatures is as high as it has ever been with the world average sitting at 24.1% as of 1 December 2018 (Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2018). The literature on women’s parliamentary participation has achieved significant growth over the years (O’Brien and Piscopo, 2018). However, studies on committee allocations and gender gaps within committees remain in their infancy (Murray and Sénac, 2018). Prior studies available on committee assignments are dominated by the Western context (Hansen, 2010; Pansardi and Vercesi, 2017; Mickler, 2018; Espírito-Santo and Sanches, 2019), while far less research has systematically studied the patterns in Asian parliaments (Yoon and Osawa, 2017; Joshi and Goehrung, 2018). This article is the first of its kind to explore the politics surrounding committee assignments in Indonesia, the third largest democracy in the world. Combining the insights of quantitative and qualitative analysis, this article uses Indonesia as a case study. Findings from Indonesia offer an excellent generalisability as they will expand our knowledge on how women are being assigned to committees and actually represent electorates in non-Western democracies with similar governance systems. It is important to observe the dynamics in the Indonesian Lower House (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR) as Indonesia is home to the world’s biggest Muslim population and its democracy is still at a transitional stage (Sherlock, 2010). In the last two decades, following the general trend in many countries and the provision of legislated gender quotas, women’s share in the DPR has increased, moving from 11.4% in 1999 to 17.32% in 2014 (Prihatini, 2018). This study argues female MPs are over-represented in ‘feminine’ and low-prestige committees (see Krook and O’Brien (2010) for committees classification), indicating that gender bias continues to shape the characteristics of Post-Suharto parliamentary politics. Based on the information obtained from respondents, this allocation is not always due to discrimination or marginalisation as previously argued (Heath et al., 2005). Instead, feminine and low-prestige committees are often viewed more favourably among lawmakers who are eyeing re-election. One possible explanation for this strategy is similar to Aspinall’s (2014) assertion about parliament and patronage in Indonesia. Feminine and low-prestige committees often have a more direct effect on people’s welfare, hence being in these committees enables MPs to provide stronger patronage to their constituents. Furthermore, the results suggest a party’s ideology is less useful in explaining the patterns of women’s committee assignments, as the composition of committees in pluralist parties resembles that of Islamist parties. Thus, parties identifying Islamic values in their campaign materials may still allocate a significant number of women to masculine committees, and on multiple occasions they too appoint female deputies as faction or committee leaders. The rest of the article is structured as follows. Section 2 reviews the literature on gender in legislative committees. Section 3 locates the research context which is the DPR in the last three consecutive periods: 2004, 2009 and 2014. Two research hypotheses are elaborated in Section 4: gendered division of committees and party ideology. Data and methods are presented in Section 5, followed by a discussion of the findings. Finally, this article provides key conclusions and directions for future research in understanding gender in Indonesian legislative committees. 2. Literature review Parliamentary committees are established for various reasons, with some of the most important purposes tending to reflect key institutional tasks, such as law-making, budgeting and administrative oversight (Mattson and Strøm, 1995). Committee assignments are vital for parties as they wish to maintain substantial power over numerous issues formulated at this level while, on the other hand, members want committee assignments that allow them to deliver benefits to their constituencies which will further facilitate their re-election (Riera and Cantu, 2018). Cases of gender gaps in committee allocations are well-documented in the USA (Frisch and Kelly, 2003; Bolzendahl, 2014), Europe (Hansen, 2010; Baekgaard and Kjaer, 2012; Pansardi and Vercesi, 2017; Mickler, 2018) and Latin America (Heath et al., 2005; Kerevel and Atkeson, 2013; Funk et al., 2017). Research in the Asian context, however, is still in its infancy (Yoon and Osawa, 2017; Joshi and Goehrung, 2018). The growing body of literature on gender in legislative committees suggests women are much more likely to be placed on ‘feminine’ and less prestigious committees (Franceschet, 2011; Bolzendahl, 2014; Pansardi and Vercesi, 2017), and only a small percentage of women serve in leadership roles (Heath et al., 2005). These disparities are occurring partly because some committees are considered more valuable, more prestigious and more powerful than others (Hansen, 2010; Kerevel and Atkeson, 2013). And thus, as committees and ministerial portfolios are connected in most modern parliaments, scholars have been measuring committees based on the level of prestige/power and the gender nature of the portfolio (Druckman and Warwick, 2005; Krook and O’Brien, 2012). Committees that deal with the budget, foreign affairs and defense are considered as important and often associated with men’s interests and strengths (Franceschet, 2011). Meanwhile committees associated with women include social affairs, education, culture and equality issues (Baekgaard and Kjaer, 2012; Krook and O’Brien, 2012). Bolzendahl (2018) contends a reliance on gender stereotypes enables internal mechanisms that ‘push’ women to be invested in committees that oversee health care, education and family issues. However, this salience of gender and the use of gendered frames by parties in allocating MPs can sometimes be a reflection of personal preferences. Based on national surveys of state legislators in the USA, Carroll (2008) finds female state legislators are more likely than their male colleagues to seek and obtain positions on committees dealing with education, health and human services. Also, in the case of Danish councillors, men and women sit on different committees largely because they prefer different committees, where men are more concentrated in technical areas and women are more concentrated in areas to do with children (Baekgaard and Kjaer, 2012). These international studies are highly convincing as this article will also demonstrate how personal motivations often can be very useful in determining which committees are more appealing to male and female MPs. Aside from MPs’ personal preferences, committee assignments might also be influenced by party ideology (Childs and Krook, 2009) in promoting women’s political representation, suggesting that left-wing parties are more likely to appoint women to masculine and prestigious committees compared to conservative parties (Santana and Aguilar, 2018). Further, as an ideology, religion often shapes cultural norms and gendered behaviours, which continue to corroborate gender inequality (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). 3. Case study: Indonesia’s national assembly The fall of Suharto’s authoritarian regime in 1998 has opened a new era of democracy, known as Reformasi, in which all political leaders/representatives are being freely and directly elected by their constituents. Since 2004, the Indonesian legislature has been characterised by a Lower House, the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat/DPR), and an advisory party-less body, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) (Sherlock, 2005). In 2014, the DPR was composed of 560 members, 97 of whom were women. These MPs represented 77 multi-member constituencies ranging from 3 to 10 seats in each electorate. On the other hand, the DPD is said to be an assembly for the regions because its constituencies are the provinces and because its members are elected as individual non-party candidates. The voting system is by single non-transferable vote (SNTV), which means that the candidates with the four highest numbers of votes are elected to represent the province. The amended 1945 Constitution gives the power to make laws and to oversee the executive government to the DPR (Juwono and Eckardt, 2008; Schneier, 2008). Meanwhile, the DPD’s role in law-making is limited to certain areas of policy and no bill is actually required to pass through it in order to be passed, making the DPD hardly influential (Rich, 2011). Therefore, this article focuses on the committees in the DPR. During the 32 years of Suharto’s administration, the DPR was nothing more than a rubber stamp, a place to reward loyal supporters and buy off potential critics (Sherlock, 2012). Thus, parliament’s role in drafting and reviewing legislation, or in scrutinising executive policy decisions, was minimal or non-existent. The number of committees1 in the DPR has been growing from 9 in 1999 to 11 since 2004, and each consists of 35–55 members. Schneier (2008, p. 203) notes the size of committees is ‘balancing party ratios roughly in proportion to those of the plenary and allocating chairmanships through negotiations among the leaders of the dominant parties’. A study published by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry/KPP-PA and Indonesian elections watchdog Association for Elections and Democracy/Perludem (KPP-PA and Perludem, 2017) suggests little is known about how parties are allocating deputies to committees, aside from the assignment being determined centrally by the party elites. In his observation on the 2014 elections, Edward Aspinall argues open lists provide legislators with an incentive to develop a personal vote which shifts their attention away from nationally important but electorally unrewarding tasks of policy development. ‘Some of those who survived now express a desire to abandon DPR commissions that offer no means of providing patronage to constituents (the foreign relations commission, for example) in order to join others (such as infrastructure and agriculture) that do’ (2014, pp. 108–109). Sherlock (2012) explains that, in the Indonesian parliament, the committees are where the decision-making action really is. And thus, the most efficient route to influence is to lobby members of relevant committees, especially the powerful ones, regardless of their party affiliation. He strongly argues that approaching the party caucus (fraksi) leaders in order to influence the content of legislation, for example, will not be as productive as securing support from committee members. Similarly, Slater’s (2004, p. 90) observation on parliamentary commissions suggests a seat in the DPR offers ‘highly lucrative patronage networks’, especially in the most basah (translated as wet in English) committees such as budget, trade and industry, finance and banking, and energy and mineral resources. The literature on Indonesia’s parliament suggests women’s share has been unsteady and low with less than 20% despite the provision of legislated 30% candidate gender quotas since 2004 (Hillman, 2018). This situation is slightly worse compared to women’s share in ministerial positions in 2014–2019, which comprise 26.5%. Table 1 displays the growth of women’s parliamentary representation in the DPR since the country’s first general election held in 1955 up to 2014. The jump in the proportion of women elected between 2004 and 2009 was partly influenced by the switch to the open-list proportional representation system and the implementation of a gender quotas policy that requires parties to appoint women as at least 30% of party managers at all levels and the same ratio for legislative candidates. The Indonesian experience resonates with numerous democracies in the world with regard to the improvement of women’s participation as lawmakers. Yet, the pace has been slow compared to neighbouring Asian countries (Prihatini, 2019c). Scholars argue that women’s electability has been severely affected by low list position on party tickets (Prihatini, 2019b), lack of experience in a political career (Dettman et al., 2017) and money politics practices (Rhoads, 2012). The latter aspect has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in achieving electoral integrity and democratisation, as politics in Indonesia nowadays is ‘… driven increasingly by the logic of money politics’ (Robison and Hadiz, 2004, p. 258) and the power of oligarchs in Indonesia is especially dominant and distorting in multiple cases (Winters, 2013). The last factor contributes to the fact that more and more elected female legislators are those who are family related to local political leaders. Table 1 Women’s parliamentary representation in Indonesia, 1955–2014 Election . 1955 . 1971 . 1977 . 1982 . 1987 . 1992 . 1999 . 2004 . 2009 . 2014 . Women’s share (%) 5.06 7.17 8.04 9.13 11.6 12.6 11.4 11.5 18.04 17.32 Election . 1955 . 1971 . 1977 . 1982 . 1987 . 1992 . 1999 . 2004 . 2009 . 2014 . Women’s share (%) 5.06 7.17 8.04 9.13 11.6 12.6 11.4 11.5 18.04 17.32 Source: KPU (2014). Open in new tab Table 1 Women’s parliamentary representation in Indonesia, 1955–2014 Election . 1955 . 1971 . 1977 . 1982 . 1987 . 1992 . 1999 . 2004 . 2009 . 2014 . Women’s share (%) 5.06 7.17 8.04 9.13 11.6 12.6 11.4 11.5 18.04 17.32 Election . 1955 . 1971 . 1977 . 1982 . 1987 . 1992 . 1999 . 2004 . 2009 . 2014 . Women’s share (%) 5.06 7.17 8.04 9.13 11.6 12.6 11.4 11.5 18.04 17.32 Source: KPU (2014). Open in new tab 4. Research hypotheses Indonesia’s performance in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index is ranked 104 with a score of 0.453 (the lower the score the more gender equal is the society), depicting strong gender disparities (UNDP, 2017). Gender inequalities manifest themselves in the labour market as women, on average, are paid 42% less than men, even when differences in education levels are taken into consideration (Cameron et al., 2019). Over the past 25 years, female labour force participation has been stagnant, with a participation rate of 51%. Also the proportion of women in the population with some secondary education is 10% lower than men. Samarakoon and Parinduri (2015, p. 439) suggest while education reduces Indonesian women’s fertility, increases contraceptive use and promotes reproductive health practices, ‘there is no evidence that education improves women’s decision-making authority (except on savings), women’s assets ownership (except that of household appliances and jewellery) or community participation (except visiting the community weighing post)’. They conclude education may be insufficient to change deeply rooted societal attitudes, especially in transforming gender relations in political and economical spheres. Scholars have found that social attitudes towards women affect both the supply and the demand sides of women’s political participation (Norris and Lovenduski, 1995; Paxton and Kunovich, 2003). On the supply side, certain social attitudes might restrain women’s decisions to run for office, while on the demand side, they may have an effect on voters’ support for female politicians (Lovenduski, 2016). Similarly, Valdini (2012) reports that cultural gender norms that suggest women are best in traditional roles, not as leaders, will have a negative effect on the nomination of women candidates. 4.1 The division of committees Research suggests women are concentrated in ‘soft’ committees, dealing with domestic and social issues, while men dominate ‘hard’ committees, such as economics and foreign affairs (Heath et al., 2005; Baekgaard and Kjaer, 2012). Bolzendahl (2014) suggests this distribution of committee membership (and leadership) does not only represent gender divisions of labour but simultaneously creates them. As committees provide resources that help representatives win re-election, scholars argue that marginalising women on social issues committees appears to be a strategy used by male politicians to hoard scarce political resources (Heath et al., 2005; Riera and Cantu, 2018). In Indonesia, where socio-economic gender inequalities are striking, one may expect that political parties would allocate female deputies in a way that reflects traditional gender differences. This expectation brings us to the first hypothesis: H1: Women legislators are more likely to be assigned to ‘feminine’ and less prestigious committees in the DPR. 4.2 Party ideology: Islam Previous studies indicate the importance of party ideology in promoting women’s political representation, suggesting that left-wing parties are generally considered as being more concerned with issues like equality than the conservative ones (Santana and Aguilar, 2018). However, Mietzner (2008) and Aspinall et al. (2018) have demonstrated that such a dichotomy is not applicable in Indonesia as parties share a common desire to distribute power, rather than to fight over it. Instead, as Mujani and Liddle (2009) assert, parties can be distinguished by how they view the role of Islam in public and political life. Religions are shaping cultural norms, social rules and behaviours which later result in the rigidity of gender roles and attitudes (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). Islam, in particular, has been identified as significantly more patriarchal than other dominant religions on such measures (Seguino, 2011). This leads to the second hypothesis: H2: Islamist or Islamic social organisation-based parties are less likely to designate female MPs to ‘masculine’ and high prestigious committees compared to secular parties. 5. Data and methods The author created a unique data set to test the effects of gender on committee allocations in the DPR during Reformasi. To provide a complete and consistent observation, this article only includes seven major parties that have participated in the 2004, 2009 and 2014 elections. Following Mujani and Liddle’s (2009, p. 577) parties classification based on Islamist and pluralist ideologies,2 this article amalgamates Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP, Development Unity Party) and Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS, Prosperous Justice Party) as Islamist parties, Partai Kebangkitan Nasional (PKB, National Awakening Party) and Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN, National Mandate Party) as Islamic social organisation-based parties3 and Golkar (Golongan Karya, Functional Groups Party), Partai Demokrasi Indonesia-Perjuangan (PDI-P, Indonesian Democracy Party-Struggle) and Demokrat (Democrat Party) as pluralist4 parties. All data are supplied by the Secretariat of DPR-RI, and for the latest sitting arrangements of the 2014–2019 parliament, the author employs the information available on the DPR’s official website (www.dpr.go.id). Further this study complements the quantitative analysis with interviews with 10 Indonesian deputies, conducted in 2016 and 2018, using a snowballing technique.5 The sample population consists of eight female and two male MPs, all representing the seven major parties observed in this study. To protect the anonymity of the interviewees, this article provides only their sex and Islamist-pluralist party ideology. 6. Findings and discussion To test the above-mentioned hypotheses, this article distinguishes committees in the DPR as masculine–neutral–feminine committees and as high–medium–low prestige committees adopting Krook and O’Brien’s (2012) categorisation of cabinet ministers by policy area (Table 2). This choice is supported by the fact that Indonesian committees are mirrors of ministerial areas. The ‘gender’ of a committee is defined on the basis of the traditional and symbolic association of its field of competence to one gender or the other, while the ‘prestige’ of a committee is defined on the basis of its access to financial resources and visibility (Krook and O’Brien, 2012). Table 2 Committees by gender and prestige types Committee . Scope of duties . Government department and/or state/government agencies . Gender type . Prestige type . I Defense, Foreign and Information Affairs Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian National Military, State Minister for Communications and Information, National Defense Board (DKN), State Intelligence Agency (BIN), State Coding Institute (LEMSANEG), National Information Board (LIN), Antara National News Office, National Resilience Institute (LKN), Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Masculine High II Home Affairs, Regional Autonomy, Administrative Reforms and Agrarian Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs, State Minister for Administrative Reforms, State Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, State Administration Board (LAIY), State Civil Servant Agency (BKN), National Land Agency (BPN), National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), General Elections Commission (KPU) Masculine High III Law and Legislation, Human Rights, and Security Affairs The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Supreme Court, national Police of the Republic of Indonesia, Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK), National Ombudsman Commission, National Law Commission, National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM), Secretary General of Supreme Court, Secretary General of Constitution Court, Secretary General of People's Consultative Assembly, Secretary General of Regional Representatives Council, Center for Financial Reporting and Transaction Analysis (PPATK), Agency for National Law Development (BPHN) Masculine High IV Agricultural, Plantations, Forestry, Maritime, Fisheries, and Food Affairs Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, State Logistic Agency (BULOG), National Maritimes Board Masculine Medium V Communications, Telecommunications, Public Works, Public Housing Affairs, Acceleration of Development of Disadvantaged Regions Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Communications, State Minister for Public Housing, State Minister for Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (EFJG) Masculine Medium VI Trade, Industrial, Investment, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and State-owned Enterprises Affairs Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, State Minister for the Empowerment of State-owned Enterprises, Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), National Standardization Board (BSN), National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN), Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) Masculine Medium VII Energy, Mineral Resources, Research and Technology, Environmental Affairs Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, State Minister for the Environment, State Minister for Research and Technology, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), National Research Board, Indonesian Academy of Science (LIPI), Nuclear Power Institute (BATAN), Nuclear Power Supervisory Agency (BAPETAW), National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), National Aeronautics and Aerospace Institute (LAPAN), Supervisory Board for Oil and Gas Downstream Activities, Implementation Agency for Oil and Gas Upstream Activities Controlling Neutral Medium VIII Religious, Social, and Women's Empowerment Affairs Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs, State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Commission for Indonesian Children Protection (KPAI), Women National Commission Feminine Low IX Demography, Health, Manpower and Transmigration Affairs Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Feminine Medium X Education, Youth, Sport, Tourism, Arts and Culture Affairs Ministry of National Education, Minister of Culture and Tourism, State Minister for Youth and Sport, National Library, Development Agency for Culture and Tourism (BP BUDPAR) Feminine Low XI Finance, National Development Planning Board, Banking and Non-Bank Financial Institutions Affairs Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, State Minister for National Development Planning of the national development planning Non-Bank Financial, Institutions, Agency for Finance and Development Supervision (BPKP), Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), Secretary General of State Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia Masculine High Committee . Scope of duties . Government department and/or state/government agencies . Gender type . Prestige type . I Defense, Foreign and Information Affairs Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian National Military, State Minister for Communications and Information, National Defense Board (DKN), State Intelligence Agency (BIN), State Coding Institute (LEMSANEG), National Information Board (LIN), Antara National News Office, National Resilience Institute (LKN), Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Masculine High II Home Affairs, Regional Autonomy, Administrative Reforms and Agrarian Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs, State Minister for Administrative Reforms, State Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, State Administration Board (LAIY), State Civil Servant Agency (BKN), National Land Agency (BPN), National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), General Elections Commission (KPU) Masculine High III Law and Legislation, Human Rights, and Security Affairs The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Supreme Court, national Police of the Republic of Indonesia, Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK), National Ombudsman Commission, National Law Commission, National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM), Secretary General of Supreme Court, Secretary General of Constitution Court, Secretary General of People's Consultative Assembly, Secretary General of Regional Representatives Council, Center for Financial Reporting and Transaction Analysis (PPATK), Agency for National Law Development (BPHN) Masculine High IV Agricultural, Plantations, Forestry, Maritime, Fisheries, and Food Affairs Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, State Logistic Agency (BULOG), National Maritimes Board Masculine Medium V Communications, Telecommunications, Public Works, Public Housing Affairs, Acceleration of Development of Disadvantaged Regions Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Communications, State Minister for Public Housing, State Minister for Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (EFJG) Masculine Medium VI Trade, Industrial, Investment, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and State-owned Enterprises Affairs Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, State Minister for the Empowerment of State-owned Enterprises, Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), National Standardization Board (BSN), National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN), Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) Masculine Medium VII Energy, Mineral Resources, Research and Technology, Environmental Affairs Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, State Minister for the Environment, State Minister for Research and Technology, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), National Research Board, Indonesian Academy of Science (LIPI), Nuclear Power Institute (BATAN), Nuclear Power Supervisory Agency (BAPETAW), National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), National Aeronautics and Aerospace Institute (LAPAN), Supervisory Board for Oil and Gas Downstream Activities, Implementation Agency for Oil and Gas Upstream Activities Controlling Neutral Medium VIII Religious, Social, and Women's Empowerment Affairs Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs, State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Commission for Indonesian Children Protection (KPAI), Women National Commission Feminine Low IX Demography, Health, Manpower and Transmigration Affairs Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Feminine Medium X Education, Youth, Sport, Tourism, Arts and Culture Affairs Ministry of National Education, Minister of Culture and Tourism, State Minister for Youth and Sport, National Library, Development Agency for Culture and Tourism (BP BUDPAR) Feminine Low XI Finance, National Development Planning Board, Banking and Non-Bank Financial Institutions Affairs Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, State Minister for National Development Planning of the national development planning Non-Bank Financial, Institutions, Agency for Finance and Development Supervision (BPKP), Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), Secretary General of State Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia Masculine High Sources: DPR official website (DPRRI, 2018) and Krook and O’Brien (2012). Open in new tab Table 2 Committees by gender and prestige types Committee . Scope of duties . Government department and/or state/government agencies . Gender type . Prestige type . I Defense, Foreign and Information Affairs Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian National Military, State Minister for Communications and Information, National Defense Board (DKN), State Intelligence Agency (BIN), State Coding Institute (LEMSANEG), National Information Board (LIN), Antara National News Office, National Resilience Institute (LKN), Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Masculine High II Home Affairs, Regional Autonomy, Administrative Reforms and Agrarian Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs, State Minister for Administrative Reforms, State Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, State Administration Board (LAIY), State Civil Servant Agency (BKN), National Land Agency (BPN), National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), General Elections Commission (KPU) Masculine High III Law and Legislation, Human Rights, and Security Affairs The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Supreme Court, national Police of the Republic of Indonesia, Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK), National Ombudsman Commission, National Law Commission, National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM), Secretary General of Supreme Court, Secretary General of Constitution Court, Secretary General of People's Consultative Assembly, Secretary General of Regional Representatives Council, Center for Financial Reporting and Transaction Analysis (PPATK), Agency for National Law Development (BPHN) Masculine High IV Agricultural, Plantations, Forestry, Maritime, Fisheries, and Food Affairs Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, State Logistic Agency (BULOG), National Maritimes Board Masculine Medium V Communications, Telecommunications, Public Works, Public Housing Affairs, Acceleration of Development of Disadvantaged Regions Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Communications, State Minister for Public Housing, State Minister for Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (EFJG) Masculine Medium VI Trade, Industrial, Investment, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and State-owned Enterprises Affairs Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, State Minister for the Empowerment of State-owned Enterprises, Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), National Standardization Board (BSN), National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN), Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) Masculine Medium VII Energy, Mineral Resources, Research and Technology, Environmental Affairs Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, State Minister for the Environment, State Minister for Research and Technology, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), National Research Board, Indonesian Academy of Science (LIPI), Nuclear Power Institute (BATAN), Nuclear Power Supervisory Agency (BAPETAW), National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), National Aeronautics and Aerospace Institute (LAPAN), Supervisory Board for Oil and Gas Downstream Activities, Implementation Agency for Oil and Gas Upstream Activities Controlling Neutral Medium VIII Religious, Social, and Women's Empowerment Affairs Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs, State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Commission for Indonesian Children Protection (KPAI), Women National Commission Feminine Low IX Demography, Health, Manpower and Transmigration Affairs Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Feminine Medium X Education, Youth, Sport, Tourism, Arts and Culture Affairs Ministry of National Education, Minister of Culture and Tourism, State Minister for Youth and Sport, National Library, Development Agency for Culture and Tourism (BP BUDPAR) Feminine Low XI Finance, National Development Planning Board, Banking and Non-Bank Financial Institutions Affairs Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, State Minister for National Development Planning of the national development planning Non-Bank Financial, Institutions, Agency for Finance and Development Supervision (BPKP), Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), Secretary General of State Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia Masculine High Committee . Scope of duties . Government department and/or state/government agencies . Gender type . Prestige type . I Defense, Foreign and Information Affairs Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indonesian National Military, State Minister for Communications and Information, National Defense Board (DKN), State Intelligence Agency (BIN), State Coding Institute (LEMSANEG), National Information Board (LIN), Antara National News Office, National Resilience Institute (LKN), Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Masculine High II Home Affairs, Regional Autonomy, Administrative Reforms and Agrarian Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs, State Minister for Administrative Reforms, State Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, State Administration Board (LAIY), State Civil Servant Agency (BKN), National Land Agency (BPN), National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI), General Elections Commission (KPU) Masculine High III Law and Legislation, Human Rights, and Security Affairs The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Supreme Court, national Police of the Republic of Indonesia, Commission for the Eradication of Corruption (KPK), National Ombudsman Commission, National Law Commission, National Commission of Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM), Secretary General of Supreme Court, Secretary General of Constitution Court, Secretary General of People's Consultative Assembly, Secretary General of Regional Representatives Council, Center for Financial Reporting and Transaction Analysis (PPATK), Agency for National Law Development (BPHN) Masculine High IV Agricultural, Plantations, Forestry, Maritime, Fisheries, and Food Affairs Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries, State Logistic Agency (BULOG), National Maritimes Board Masculine Medium V Communications, Telecommunications, Public Works, Public Housing Affairs, Acceleration of Development of Disadvantaged Regions Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Communications, State Minister for Public Housing, State Minister for Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (EFJG) Masculine Medium VI Trade, Industrial, Investment, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and State-owned Enterprises Affairs Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, State Minister for the Empowerment of State-owned Enterprises, Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), National Standardization Board (BSN), National Consumer Protection Agency (BPKN), Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) Masculine Medium VII Energy, Mineral Resources, Research and Technology, Environmental Affairs Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, State Minister for the Environment, State Minister for Research and Technology, Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), National Research Board, Indonesian Academy of Science (LIPI), Nuclear Power Institute (BATAN), Nuclear Power Supervisory Agency (BAPETAW), National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping (BAKOSURTANAL), National Aeronautics and Aerospace Institute (LAPAN), Supervisory Board for Oil and Gas Downstream Activities, Implementation Agency for Oil and Gas Upstream Activities Controlling Neutral Medium VIII Religious, Social, and Women's Empowerment Affairs Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Social Affairs, State Minister for Women's Empowerment, Commission for Indonesian Children Protection (KPAI), Women National Commission Feminine Low IX Demography, Health, Manpower and Transmigration Affairs Ministry of Health, Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, National Family Planning Board (BKKBN), Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Feminine Medium X Education, Youth, Sport, Tourism, Arts and Culture Affairs Ministry of National Education, Minister of Culture and Tourism, State Minister for Youth and Sport, National Library, Development Agency for Culture and Tourism (BP BUDPAR) Feminine Low XI Finance, National Development Planning Board, Banking and Non-Bank Financial Institutions Affairs Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, State Minister for National Development Planning of the national development planning Non-Bank Financial, Institutions, Agency for Finance and Development Supervision (BPKP), Central Statistics Bureau (BPS), Secretary General of State Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia Masculine High Sources: DPR official website (DPRRI, 2018) and Krook and O’Brien (2012). Open in new tab Out of 11 committees in the DPR, three committees (VIII, IX and X) fit into the feminine gender type as they are dealing with social and women’s affairs, health, education, tourism and cultural issues. Meanwhile, the masculine and high-prestige committees are those I–III and XI, overseeing defense, foreign affairs, regional autonomy, human rights and finance. The only neutral gender type is Committee VII that handles issues related to energy and environmental affairs. 6.1 The gendered division of committees Figure 1 displays the trend of how parties are allocated to female MPs to committees in the DPR between 2004 and 2014. It is evident that women’s presence in feminine committees is strikingly strong. In 2004, almost one in every five female legislators was working in Committee VIII. A similar ratio occurred in 2009 and 2014 where women were densely engaged in Committee IX. Further assignment of women to Committee X has grown substantially in the last three periods. Figure 1 Open in new tabDownload slide Distribution of female legislators by committee 2004–2014. Source: Author’s tabulation based on data supplied by the Secretariat of DPR-RI. Figure 1 Open in new tabDownload slide Distribution of female legislators by committee 2004–2014. Source: Author’s tabulation based on data supplied by the Secretariat of DPR-RI. On the other hand, women’s share in masculine committees is, in general, lower compared to the feminine group of committees. Aside from this common trend, it is interesting to note that women’s presence in Committee III that deals with law, human rights and security affairs used to be significant in 2004, but it diminished over the next two consecutive terms. Conversely, more and more women are being assigned to Committee V that oversees the Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Communications and State Minister of Public Housing. The graph also depicts a stagnation in terms of women’s share in the neutral gender committee that supervises the executives in energy, research and environmental affairs. Data about women’s appointments to Indonesian parliamentary committees thus confirm the division of labour hypothesis: women have been assigned to feminine and low-prestige committees more than to masculine and high-prestige committees. These findings indicate parties in Indonesia are applying gender norms as to how women should contribute in parliament and that is by handling ‘soft’ or feminine issues rather than legislating ‘hard’ and masculine affairs (Figure 2). Figure 2 Open in new tabDownload slide Popularity of terms in the title of committees where women are most over-represented. Figure 2 Open in new tabDownload slide Popularity of terms in the title of committees where women are most over-represented. However, contrary to Heath et al.’s (2005) assertion on how this gendered committee assignment is a strategy used by male politicians to control scarce political resources, it is in fact these feminine committees which are offering substantial incentives for lawmakers who wish to retain their seats. According to a female MP representing PKB, the feminine and low-prestige committees provide ample opportunities for parliamentarians to do work visits to their constituencies and bring along with them material assistance, such as social assistance funds (Bantuan Sosial/Bansos) and programmes for pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). She uses an analogy for the two kinds of committees in the DPR: mata air (water springs) and air mata (tears). The earlier refers to committees with various programmes which directly affect people’s welfare, such as health, education, manpower and tourism, while the latter are committees that have minimum direct interaction with the community because their programmes are in the nature of state governance and barely provide material assistance to the constituents. Similarly, an interviewee from Golkar illustrates the compelling difference between working for a feminine committee and a masculine one. She concedes while sitting on the so-called low-prestige committee, she has done 61 work visits in a year to oversee the implementation of various programmes: ‘We are giving out different social security cards and get to meet the people more frequently. Meanwhile, working in the so-called high prestige committee only gets you like what? Ten work visits in a year?’ ‘I am often being asked by my constituents, “Why don’t you bring us social assistance funds?” I explain that my committee is not overseeing such programs. I am dealing with bureaucracy reform and elections, thus I can only promote and explain developments related to bureaucracy reform and electoral issues during my work visits’, said another respondent from PKB, implying her constituents had little knowledge of her duties as a lawmaker and that she does not bring assistance funds to electorates. These accounts offer some support to Aspinall’s (2014) earlier findings which stipulate that some MPs are very keen to be in the feminine and low-prestige committees because it means they can provide patronage to their respective constituents and in turn it will help them retain DPR seats. However, the 2019 election results contradict this assumption because female incumbents who had served in feminine committees such as in Committees VIII, IX and X were only 38%, 45% and 52% re-elected, respectively. Meanwhile, seven out of nine female MPs who worked in Committee V (characterised as a masculine and medium prestige type) retained their seats, achieving the highest success rate at 77% (Table 3). Those who had served on other masculine committees (Committees I and VI) were also more successful in being re-elected with 60% of them returning to the DPR this year. Table 3 Female MPs committee memberships and percentage of re-elected in the 2019 elections Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . Re-elected (%) 60 14 0 32 77 60 32 38 45 52 28 Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . Re-elected (%) 60 14 0 32 77 60 32 38 45 52 28 Source: Author’s tabulation. Open in new tab Table 3 Female MPs committee memberships and percentage of re-elected in the 2019 elections Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . Re-elected (%) 60 14 0 32 77 60 32 38 45 52 28 Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . Re-elected (%) 60 14 0 32 77 60 32 38 45 52 28 Source: Author’s tabulation. Open in new tab Table 4. Women’s committee assignments by party (in percentages) Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . PPP  2004 50 50  2009 20 40 20 20  2014 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2 11.1 11.1 PKS  2004 33.3 33.3 33.3  2009 33.3 33.3 33.3  2014 50 50 PKB  2004 10 20 40 20 10  2009 14.3 28.6 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 PAN  2004 22.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2  2009 14.3 14.3 14.3 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 12.5 25 12.5 12.5 37.5 Demokrat  2004 16.7 16.7 33.3 16.7 16.7  2009 6.9 10.3 3.4 6.9 3.4 10.3 10.3 20.7 10.3 17.2  2014 7.1 7.1 14.3 14.3 28.6 7.1 21.4 PDIP  2004 11.1 27.8 11.1 11.1 5.6 11.1 16.7 5.6  2009 6.3 6.3 6.3 12.5 18.8 31.3 6.3 12.5  2014 4.8 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 9.5 19 14.3 14.3 9.5 Golkar  2004 9.5 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 14.3 23.8 23.8 4.8  2009 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 13.3 13.3 33.3 13.3  2014 11.8 5.9 5.9 11.8 5.9 11.8 23.5 23.5 Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . PPP  2004 50 50  2009 20 40 20 20  2014 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2 11.1 11.1 PKS  2004 33.3 33.3 33.3  2009 33.3 33.3 33.3  2014 50 50 PKB  2004 10 20 40 20 10  2009 14.3 28.6 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 PAN  2004 22.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2  2009 14.3 14.3 14.3 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 12.5 25 12.5 12.5 37.5 Demokrat  2004 16.7 16.7 33.3 16.7 16.7  2009 6.9 10.3 3.4 6.9 3.4 10.3 10.3 20.7 10.3 17.2  2014 7.1 7.1 14.3 14.3 28.6 7.1 21.4 PDIP  2004 11.1 27.8 11.1 11.1 5.6 11.1 16.7 5.6  2009 6.3 6.3 6.3 12.5 18.8 31.3 6.3 12.5  2014 4.8 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 9.5 19 14.3 14.3 9.5 Golkar  2004 9.5 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 14.3 23.8 23.8 4.8  2009 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 13.3 13.3 33.3 13.3  2014 11.8 5.9 5.9 11.8 5.9 11.8 23.5 23.5 Note: The percentage for each party is obtained by dividing the number of women in each committee with the total of female deputies in the same party. Open in new tab Table 4. Women’s committee assignments by party (in percentages) Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . PPP  2004 50 50  2009 20 40 20 20  2014 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2 11.1 11.1 PKS  2004 33.3 33.3 33.3  2009 33.3 33.3 33.3  2014 50 50 PKB  2004 10 20 40 20 10  2009 14.3 28.6 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 PAN  2004 22.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2  2009 14.3 14.3 14.3 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 12.5 25 12.5 12.5 37.5 Demokrat  2004 16.7 16.7 33.3 16.7 16.7  2009 6.9 10.3 3.4 6.9 3.4 10.3 10.3 20.7 10.3 17.2  2014 7.1 7.1 14.3 14.3 28.6 7.1 21.4 PDIP  2004 11.1 27.8 11.1 11.1 5.6 11.1 16.7 5.6  2009 6.3 6.3 6.3 12.5 18.8 31.3 6.3 12.5  2014 4.8 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 9.5 19 14.3 14.3 9.5 Golkar  2004 9.5 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 14.3 23.8 23.8 4.8  2009 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 13.3 13.3 33.3 13.3  2014 11.8 5.9 5.9 11.8 5.9 11.8 23.5 23.5 Committee . I . II . III . IV . V . VI . VII . VIII . IX . X . XI . PPP  2004 50 50  2009 20 40 20 20  2014 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2 11.1 11.1 PKS  2004 33.3 33.3 33.3  2009 33.3 33.3 33.3  2014 50 50 PKB  2004 10 20 40 20 10  2009 14.3 28.6 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 20 10 10 10 10 10 10 20 PAN  2004 22.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 22.2 22.2  2009 14.3 14.3 14.3 28.6 14.3 14.3  2014 12.5 25 12.5 12.5 37.5 Demokrat  2004 16.7 16.7 33.3 16.7 16.7  2009 6.9 10.3 3.4 6.9 3.4 10.3 10.3 20.7 10.3 17.2  2014 7.1 7.1 14.3 14.3 28.6 7.1 21.4 PDIP  2004 11.1 27.8 11.1 11.1 5.6 11.1 16.7 5.6  2009 6.3 6.3 6.3 12.5 18.8 31.3 6.3 12.5  2014 4.8 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 9.5 19 14.3 14.3 9.5 Golkar  2004 9.5 9.5 4.8 4.8 4.8 14.3 23.8 23.8 4.8  2009 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.7 13.3 13.3 33.3 13.3  2014 11.8 5.9 5.9 11.8 5.9 11.8 23.5 23.5 Note: The percentage for each party is obtained by dividing the number of women in each committee with the total of female deputies in the same party. Open in new tab The interviews provide substantial insights into another important question which is, who makes the decision about committee allocation? Can MPs choose their committees by themselves or do the party elites do that for them? Informants in this article suggest that the internal party mechanism consists of the head of faction in the DPR and the party chairperson who are the two key decision makers. Deputies can ask for a certain committee that they prefer, but the final decision will be made by the party elites mentioned. ‘At times, there was like 10 MPs who were asking the party to assign them to Committee IX, but of course we can only take three to four following the proportion of the party seats in the parliament. This is where track record and career path become very important, because the head of faction and party leader will decide which MPs should go to the desired committee based on their resumés’, said a respondent representing PPP. In this study, a couple of female MPs suggest that committee assignment is a matter of functionality. ‘We can see in Committee IX, for example, there are lots of MPs who are also medical doctors. Parties put them there because it is perceived that someone with a medical degree would know better about how to deal with health issues, or family planning, etc.’, claims an interviewee who herself is a dentist. ‘We can support our request by providing a letter of recommendation from a relevant NGO, noting that we have been very attuned to the issues, hence we are ready to represent the party on that particular committee’, said a female legislator from Demokrat. She further argues that, in general, parties are more interested in assigning MPs with appropriate knowledge to the committees. However, if a legislator is being sworn in as a substitute for another MP, this new lawmaker might not really have a sufficient track record in dealing with issues encountered in the respective committee. 6.2 Party ideology In Table 4, women’s committee assignments by party from 2004 to 2014 show a couple of interesting findings. The first is related to how a well-established party which once dominated electoral politics during Suharto’s regime, Golkar, has always been assigning most female MPs to feminine committees (Committees VIII–X). As a winning party in the 2004 elections, Golkar had the opportunity to allocate women to all committees in the DPR. But the fact that the party sent nearly half the female MPs to Committees VIII and IX, while committees that oversee agricultural, forestry and finance affairs had no female representation, indicates how gender norms are playing a substantial role in appointments. Golkar has been consistently the poorest performer (after PKS) in its allocation of female MPs to masculine and high-prestige committees. Secondly, other parties fitting in the pluralist group display a slightly different pattern to Golkar. In 2004, PDIP assigned nearly one-third of female MPs to a masculine committee (Committee III) that deals with law reform, human rights and security affairs. This allocation of female deputies to Committee III set the highest record ever achieved, since other parties in any given term have allocated less than 12% women. Also in 2004, Demokrat appointed one-third of their female MPs to participate in a masculine medium-prestige committee (Committee IV) that supervises agricultural, forestry and maritime matters. However, the overall data suggest that pluralist parties tend to allocate more women to feminine committees, with nearly half of them occupying Committees VII, IX and X. The findings indicate that a party’s ideology seems to be less useful in explaining the pattern of women’s committee assignments, as an Islamist party, PKS, resembles Golkar’s composition. Hence, one could argue that despite having a profound difference in their views on the role of Islam in public lives and politics, it turns out that both parties assume that women’s best position in parliament is taking care of feminine rather than masculine issues. However, it is also important to note that the vast majority of female MPs from PPP (another Islamist party) were assigned to masculine committees. Further, the party has not sent any female representative to Committee VIII since 2004. Correspondingly, Islamic social organisation-based parties (PKB and PAN) display a strong record of appointing female deputies to masculine committees like I, II, IV and V. Female MPs are capable of developing their political careers in masculine environment committees and becoming leaders in the parliament. For example, in the current sittings, four female politicians are serving as deputy chairs of Committees II, III, IX and X. They represent PKB, Demokrat, PPP and Golkar, respectively. Earlier in this term, Meutya Hafid of Golkar served as deputy chair of Committee I. Ida Fauziyah of PKB and Reni Marlinawati of PPP are leading their parties’ faction in the House. In 2009, Ida Fauziyah of PKB and Ribka Tjiptaning of PDI-P were the chairs of Committees VIII and IX. Two female MPs from Demokrat served as deputy chairs of Committees IX and XI. Another Demokrat female politician, Melanie Suharli, served as the House deputy speaker. Lastly in the 2004–2009 period, Ribka Tjiptaning of PDI-P was the chair of Committee IX, and Khofifah Indar Parawansa of PKB chaired Committee VII and led the faction at the House (later replaced by Ida Fauziyah as faction leader). Also in 2004, Yoyoh Yusroh of PKS served as deputy chair of Committee VIII, along with Zul Hizwar of PBR (Partai Bintang Reformasi, Reform Star Party). These trends indicate that Islam is not always synonymous with patriarchy as is often suggested in the literature of gender and politics (Inglehart and Norris, 2003). And thus because the findings do not clearly distinguish the religious from the pluralist parties in terms of women’s committee assignments, this article argues that the party ideology hypothesis cannot be unquestionably confirmed (Prihatini, 2019a). And thus, parties’ interpretation of Islam is key in understanding the different patterns in committee allocations. It also opens an avenue for future research in examining female MPs’ backgrounds and their correlation with the type of committees they are being appointed to. This article highlights the importance of observing the trends in committee allocations for female MPs based on a party-by-party basis rather than ideology, since there is little discernible pattern to committee assignments in Indonesia. For example, PPP allocated no women to Committee IV overseeing forestry and maritime affairs in 2004 and 2014, yet assigned two female MPs (equal to 40%) in 2009. Similarly, Demokrat has sent no women to Committees I and II in 2014, while it previously sent one to three female MPs to serve these highly masculine committees. To shed some light as to what kind of background these women are coming from, Figure 3 depicts the percentage of women representing electorates in Java. The island is pivotal in Indonesian politics as more than 56% of the population in 2019 are living in Java, and of the six provinces with the largest population, five of them are in Java (Kusnandar, 2019). In particular, the official capital city Jakarta's metropolitan area, also known as Jabodetabek, is the third largest in the world having a population of over 30 million people. It is evident that feminine committees (Committees VII, IX and X) are consistently being dominated by female MPs from Java where the percentage of this group has always been higher than 50%. On the other hand, women MPs whose constituencies are in outer Java are more likely to be found in Committee V overseeing the acceleration of development of disadvantaged regions, which are dominated by provinces in outer Java. This observation indicates that it may be possible to infer that constituencies are a determining factor in female MPs’ committee allocation. Figure 3 Open in new tabDownload slide Percentage of women representing electorates in Java by committee. Figure 3 Open in new tabDownload slide Percentage of women representing electorates in Java by committee. 7. Conclusions Drawing upon studies on gender in legislative committees which mainly focus on Western societies (Baekgaard and Kjaer, 2012; Bolzendahl, 2014), this article aims to examine the dynamics in Indonesia, an Asian democracy which is also home to the world’s biggest Muslim population. It aims to examine the extent of gendered division of committees and the impact of Islam as a party ideology. By observing the composition of committees in the least three consecutive elections and using interviews with sitting parliamentarians, this article has shown that gender bias is an enduring characteristic of Post-Suharto parliamentary politics. Like in so many countries in the world (Franceschet, 2011; Bolzendahl, 2014; Pansardi and Vercesi, 2017), Indonesian female MPs are more likely to be placed in feminine and less prestigious committees, and rarely hold committee leadership. It is worth noting, however, that a minority of women have been appointed as party faction or committee leaders for more than one term. Furthermore, the findings in this study suggest that party ideology, in this case Islam, is not the key determinant in explaining how parties are allocating female deputies to masculine versus feminine committees. In the case of Islamist parties, PPP and PKS, female MPs were being assigned to committees in significantly different patterns. With only two to three female legislators serving during the observed periods, it is evident to see that PKS focuses women’s presence in feminine and low-prestige committees. While PPP, with more elected female lawmakers, has been assigning women to almost all committees and has not allocated them to committees that solely deal with issues related to women and families. This observation may be influenced by the fact that parties have different interpretations of Islam, and thus the committee assignments of female MPs are quite distinct. It also finds little support for Heath et al.’s (2005) assertion that women are being marginalised by overseeing only feminine issues. In fact, in a parliament where the bond between parliament and patronage is so strong as in Indonesia (Sherlock, 2012; Aspinall, 2014), being in the feminine and less prestigious committees is more rewarding as legislators perceive that these committees can offer significant direct material support to their constituents and, thus, boost their chance of being re-elected. Nonetheless, the 2019 election results contradict this assumption because female incumbents who had served in feminine committees such as in Committees VIII, IX and X were only 38%, 45% and 52% re-elected, respectively. Meanwhile, seven out of nine female MPs who worked in Committee V (characterised as a masculine and medium prestige type) successfully maintained their seats, achieving the highest success rate at 77%. Further research is required to investigate why incumbents from feminine committees failed to gain substantial electoral support from their constituents and to compare women’s performance with male MPs serving on the same committees. The case study of Indonesia is of relevance both to confirm and generate hypotheses on women’s committee memberships in national parliaments. It places the country in the broader comparative literature on women’s assignments to committees and observes some trends which contradict previous research. The high proportion of women in feminine and low-prestige committees confirms conclusions from other international studies. However, this study highlights the importance of observing trends in parties’ decisions regarding which committees women MPs should serve on, on a party-by-party basis rather than on the basis of ideology, and it argues how little discernible pattern there is to committee assignments in Indonesia. Future studies, moreover, may focus on differences between male and female MPs’ backgrounds in respective committees. Have they been appointed with a minimum mismatch in regard to their professional capacity and the committee’s scope of authority? Are there any similarities taking place in other Asian democracies with similar levels of female representation in parliament? These questions are highly valuable as currently little is known about how legislators, especially female MPs, are improving their expertise as lawmakers whilst substantively representing the people’s interest. Future research would also benefit from unpacking the debates on supply versus demand aspects which might be highly accurate in explaining the reasons behind the parties’ decisions on committee assignment, both for male and female MPs. Acknowledgement This paper is part of author's PhD project which investigates women’s parliamentary representation in Asia. The project is fully supported by the Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship 2015–2019 and the University of Western Australia (UWA). The author is grateful to the three anonymous reviewers and the editors of Parliamentary Affairs for insightful and productive comments on this work. Conflict of Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. Footnotes 1 Some scholars use Commission’ as a more direct and literal translation from the original wording in Bahasa Indonesia ‘Komisi’, yet the author has used the other common translation ‘Committee’ as a widely used term in the literature of gender and politics. 2 As also acknowledged by Mujani and Liddle (2009), the term secular here is not similar to what the Western democracies understand. In Indonesia, secular ideology refers to the state doctrine Pancasila (from the Sanskrit, it literally means five principles), in which the first principle reads ‘belief in the one high God’. On the other hand, Islamist parties are those with Islam mentioned in their Statutes. This article uses the word ‘pluralist’, instead of ‘secular’, given that the state ideology does not open the option for atheism. 3 The roots of the inclusive Islamic parties lie in Indonesian Islamic mass organisations. PKB is culturally and historically linked to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organisation in Indonesia, with its main support base centred in NU communities in East and Central Java, while PAN’s base of support is among urban Muhammadiyah members (Hwang, 2010). During the Suharto administration, PPP was recognised as the party for NU members as PPP was the only party with Islam as its ideology. In Post-Suharto times, the majority of NU members in PPP moved to PKB, but some chose to stay in PPP as a strategy to win a parliamentary seat (Siregar, 2007). 4 The word ‘pluralist’ here refers to party’s ideology that is not based on Islam but on Pancasila (the official state ideology). Aspinall et al. (2018) asked respondents about the degree to which their party was based on Pancasila—which was scored at 1, or on Islam, which was scored at 10. By this measure, the most Islamic party in the view of its own members is PPP, with an average score of 7.22, while the most Pancasila-oriented is PDI-P, at 1.82. Meanwhile, PKS average score is 5.53 making it the second most Islamic party in the view of its members. It is important to note that only PPP and PKS score more than 5.0 and the average position of all parties (at 3.27) is tilted towards Pancasila rather than Islam. 5 The interviews were conducted in Bahasa Indonesia and the author translated the data into English for coding and analysis. References Aspinall E. ( 2014 ) ‘ Parliament and Patronage ’, Journal of Democracy , 25 , 96 – 110 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Aspinall E. , Fossati D., Muhtadi B., Warburton E. ( 2018 ) ‘Mapping the Indonesian Political Spectrum’, New Mandala, accessed at https://www.newmandala.org/mapping-indonesian-political-spectrum/ on 9 January 2019. Baekgaard M. , Kjaer U. ( 2012 ) ‘ The Gendered Division of Labor in Assignments to Political Committees: Discrimination or Self-selection in Danish Local Politics? ’, Politics & Gender , 8 , 465 – 482 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Bolzendahl C. ( 2018 ) ‘Legislatures as Gendered Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment as Political Elites’. In Alexander A. C., Bolzendahl C., Jalalzai F. (eds) Measuring Women’s Political Empowerment across the Globe: Strategies, Challenges and Future Research , Cham , Palgrave Macmillan , pp. 165 – 186 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS Google Scholar Google Preview WorldCat COPAC Bolzendahl C. ( 2014 ) ‘ Opportunities and Expectations: The Gendered Organization of Legislative Committees in Germany, Sweden, and the United States ’, Gender & Society , 28 , 847 – 876 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Cameron L. , Suarez D. C., Rowell W. ( 2019 ) ‘ Female Labour Force Participation in Indonesia: Why Has It Stalled? ’, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies , 55 , 157 – 192 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Carroll S. J. ( 2008 ) ‘Committee Assignments: Discrimination or Choice?’. In Reingold B. (ed.) Legislative Women: Getting Elected, Getting Ahead , Boulder, CO , Lynne Rienner , pp. 135 – 156 . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Childs S. , Krook M. L. ( 2009 ) ‘ Analysing Women’s Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors ’, Government and Opposition , 44 , 125 – 145 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Dettman S. , Pepinsky T. B., Pierskalla J. H. ( 2017 ) ‘ Incumbency Advantage and Candidate Characteristics in Open-list Proportional Representation Systems: Evidence from Indonesia ’, Electoral Studies , 48 , 111 – 120 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat DPR-RI ( 2018 ) ‘Commissions’, The House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia, accessed at http://www.dpr.go.id/en/akd/komisi on 1 February 2018. Druckman J. N. , Warwick P. V. ( 2005 ) ‘ The Missing Piece: Measuring Portfolio Salience in Western European Parliamentary Democracies ’, European Journal of Political Research , 44 , 17 – 42 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Espírito-Santo A. , Sanches E. R. ( 2019 ) ‘Who Gets What? The Interactive Effect of MPs’ Sex in Committee Assignments in Portugal’, Parliamentary Affairs, accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsz004 on 19 February 2019. Franceschet S. ( 2011 ) ‘Gendered Institutions and Women’s Substantive Representation: Female Legislators in Argentina and Chile’. In Krook M. L., Mackay F. (eds) Gender, Politics, and Institutions: Towards a Feminist Institutionalism. Gender and Politics Series , London , Palgrave Macmillan , pp. 58 – 78 . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Frisch S. A. , Kelly S. Q. ( 2003 ) ‘ A Place at the Table: Women’s Committee Requests and Women's Committee Assignments in the US House ’, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy , 25 , 1 – 26 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Funk K. D. , Morales L., Taylor-Robinson M. M. ( 2017 ) ‘ The Impact of Committee Composition and Agendas on Women’s Participation: Evidence from a Legislature with near Numerical Equality ’, Politics & Gender , 13 , 253 – 275 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Hansen M. E. ( 2010 ) ‘ Committee Assignment Politics in the Danish Folketing ’, Scandinavian Political Studies , 33 , 381 – 401 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Heath M. R. , Schwindt-Bayer L. A., Taylor-Robinson M. M. ( 2005 ) ‘ Women on the Sidelines: Women’s Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures ’, American Journal of Political Science , 49 , 420 – 436 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Hillman B. ( 2018 ) ‘ The Limits of Gender Quotas: Women’s Parliamentary Representation in Indonesia ’, Journal of Contemporary Asia , 48 , 322 – 338 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Hwang J. C. ( 2010 ) ‘ When Parties Swing: Islamist Parties and Institutional Moderation in Malaysia and Indonesia ’, South East Asia Research , 18 , 635 – 674 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Inglehart R. , Norris P. ( 2003 ) Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change around the World , Cambridge , Cambridge University Press . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS Google Scholar Google Preview WorldCat COPAC Inter-Parliamentary Union ( 2018 ) ‘Women in Parliaments: World and Regional Averages’, IPU, accessed at http://archive.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm on 28 January 2019. Joshi D. , Goehrung R. ( 2018 ) ‘ Conceptualizing and Measuring Women’s Political Leadership: From Presence to Balance ’, Politics & Gender , 14 , 1 – 26 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Juwono V. , Eckardt S., ( 2008 ) ‘Budget Accountability and Legislative Oversight in Transition: The Case of Post-Suharto Indonesia’. In Stapenhurst R., Pellizo R., Olson D. M., von Trapp L. et al. (eds) Legislative Oversight and Budgeting: A World Perspective , Washington, DC , World Bank Institute , pp. 293 – 309 . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Kerevel Y. P. , Atkeson L. R. ( 2013 ) ‘ Explaining the Marginalization of Women in Legislative Institutions ’, The Journal of Politics , 75 , 980 – 992 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat KPP-PA and Perludem ( 2017 ) Telaah Undang-undang No. 17 tahun 2014 tentang MPR, DPR, DPD, dan DPRD (UU MD3) [Review of Law No. 17 of 2014 concerning the MPR, DPR, DPD and DPRD (UU MD3)], {KPP-PA and Perludem}. KPU ( 2014 ) ‘Buku data dan infografik pemilu anggota DPR RI & DPD RI 2014’ [Book of data and infographic general election of DPR RI & DPD RI 2014], accessed at http://www.kpu.go.id/koleksigambar/Buku_Pemilu_2014_Dalam_Angka_ACC_Upload.pdf on 3 February 2016. Krook M. L. , O'Brien D. Z. ( 2010 ) ‘ The Politics of Group Representation: Quotas for Women and Minorities Worldwide ’, Comparative Politics , 42 , 253 – 272 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Krook M. L. , O’Brien D. Z. ( 2012 ) ‘ All the President’s Men? The Appointment of Female Cabinet Ministers Worldwide ’, The Journal of Politics , 74 , 840 – 855 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Kusnandar V. B. ( 2019 ) ‘Penduduk Indonesia Masih Terkonsentrasi di Pulau Jawa’ [Indonesian Population Still Concentrated on Java Island], KataData, accessed at https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2019/07/24/penduduk-indonesia-masih-terkonsentrasi-di-pulau-jawa on 29 July 2019. Lovenduski J. ( 2016 ) ‘ The Supply and Demand Model of Candidate Selection: Some Reflections ’, Government and Opposition , 51 , 513 – 528 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Mattson I. , Strøm K. ( 1995 ) ‘Parliamentary Committees’. In Döring H. (ed.) Parliaments and Majority Rule in Western Europe , Mannheim , Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES ), pp. 249 – 307 . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Mickler T. A. ( 2018 ) ‘ Who Gets What and Why? Committee Assignments in the German Bundestag ’, West European Politics , 41 , 517 – 539 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Mietzner M. ( 2008 ) ‘ Comparing Indonesia’s Party Systems of the 1950s and the Post-Suharto Era: From Centrifugal to Centripetal Inter-party Competition ’, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , 39 , 431 – 453 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Mujani S. , Liddle R. W. ( 2009 ) ‘ Muslim Indonesia’s Secular Democracy ’, Asian Survey , 49 , 575 – 590 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Murray R. , Sénac R. ( 2018 ) ‘ Explaining Gender Gaps in Legislative Committees ’, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy , 39 , 310 – 335 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Norris P. , Lovenduski J. ( 1995 ) Political Recruitment: Gender, Race and Class in the British Parliament , Cambridge , Cambridge University Press . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC O’Brien D. Z. , Piscopo J. M. ( 2018 ) ‘Electing Women to National Legislatures’. In Alexander A. C., Bolzendahl C., Jalalzai F. (eds) Measuring Women’s Political Empowerment across the Globe: Strategies, Challenges and Future Research , Cham , Palgrave Macmillan , pp. 139 – 163 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS Google Scholar Google Preview WorldCat COPAC Pansardi P. , Vercesi M. ( 2017 ) ‘ Party Gate-keeping and Women’s Appointment to Parliamentary Committees: Evidence from the Italian Case ’, Parliamentary Affairs , 70 , 62 – 83 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Paxton P. , Kunovich S. ( 2003 ) ‘ Women’s Political Representation: The Importance of Ideology ’, Social Forces , 82 , 87 – 114 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Prihatini E. S. ( 2018 ) ‘ Indonesian Young Voters: Political Knowledge and Electing Women into Parliament ’, Women's Studies International Forum , 70 , 46 – 52 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Prihatini E. S. ( 2019a ) ‘ Islam, Parties, and Women’s Political Nomination in Indonesia ’, Politics & Gender , 1 – 23 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Prihatini E. S. ( 2019b ) ‘ Women Who Win in Indonesia: The Impact of Age, Experience, and List Position ’, Women's Studies International Forum , 72 , 40 – 46 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Prihatini E. S. ( 2019c ) ‘ Women’s Representation in Asian Parliaments: A QCA Approach ’, Contemporary Politics , 25 , 213 – 235 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Rhoads E. ( 2012 ) ‘ Women’s Political Participation in Indonesia: Decentralisation, Money Politics and Collective Memory in Bali ’, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs , 31 , 35 – 56 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Rich R. ( 2011 ) ‘ Designing the DPD: Indonesia’s Regional Representative Council ’, Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies , 47 , 263 – 273 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Riera P. , Cantu F. ( 2018 ) ‘ Determinants of Legislative Committee Membership in Proportional Representation Systems ’, Party Politics , 24 , 524 – 535 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Robison R. , Hadiz V. R. ( 2004 ) Reorganizing Power in Indonesia: The Politics of Oligarchy in an Age of Markets , London and New York, NY , Routledge . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Samarakoon S. , Parinduri R. A. ( 2015 ) ‘ Does Education Empower Women? Evidence from Indonesia ’, World Development , 66 , 428 – 442 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Santana A. , Aguilar S. ( 2018 ) ‘ Bringing Party Ideology Back in: Do Left-wing Parties Enhance the Share of Women MPs? ’, Politics & Gender , 1 – 25 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Schneier E. ( 2008 ) ‘Evolving Patterns of Legislative Oversight in Indonesia’. In Stapenhurst R. (ed.) Legislative Oversight and Budgeting: A World Perspective , Washington, DC , World Bank Institute , pp. 201 – 215 . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Schwindt-Bayer L. A. ( 2010 ) Political Power and Women’s Representation in Latin America , New York, NY , Oxford University Press . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS Google Scholar Google Preview WorldCat COPAC Seguino S. ( 2011 ) ‘ Help or Hindrance? Religion’s Impact on Gender Inequality in Attitudes and Outcomes ’, World Development , 39 , 1308 – 1321 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Sherlock S. ( 2005 ) Indonesia’s Regional Representative Assembly: Democracy, Representation and the Regions , Canberra , Centre for Democratic Institutions . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Sherlock S. ( 2010 ) ‘The Parliament in Indonesia’s Decade of Democracy: People's Forum or Chamber of Cronies?’. In Aspinall E., Mietzner M. (eds) Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions and Society , Singapore , Institute of Southeast Asian Studies , pp. 160 – 180 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS Google Scholar Google Preview WorldCat COPAC Sherlock S. ( 2012 ) ‘ Made by Committee and Consensus: Parties and Policy in the Indonesian Parliament ’, South East Asia Research , 20 , 551 – 568 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Siregar W. Z. ( 2007 ) ‘ Responses of Muslimat and Fatayat to the Quota for Women in the 2004 Election ’, Surabaya: Masyarakat Kebudayaan Dan Politik , 20 , accessed at http://www.journal.unair.ac.id/filerPDF/Responses%20of%20Muslimat%20and%20Fatayat.pdf on 20 November 2019. OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Slater D. ( 2004 ) ‘ Indonesia’s Accountability Trap: Party Cartels and Presidential Power after Democratic Transition ’, Indonesia , 78 , 61 – 92 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat UNDP ( 2017 ) ‘Gender Inequality Index’, UNDP, accessed at http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII on 24 January 2019. Valdini M. E. ( 2012 ) ‘ A Deterrent to Diversity: The Conditional Effect of Electoral Rules on the Nomination of Women Candidates ’, Electoral Studies , 31 , 740 – 749 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Winters J. A. ( 2013 ) ‘ Oligarchy and Democracy in Indonesia ’, Indonesia , 96 , 11 – 33 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Yoon J. , Osawa K. ( 2017 ) ‘ Advocating Policy Interests in Local Politics: Women’s Substantive Representation in Japan and South Korea ’, Asian Women , 33 , 43 – 67 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Hansard Society; all rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected] This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)