Abstract in English:

Abstract Although women constitute the majority of the Brazilian electorate, they remain underrepresented in party leadership positions, a pattern that the literature attributes in large part to the role of political parties in reproducing these inequalities. This article examines whether a glass ceiling exists in state-level party leadership in Brazil by testing three hypotheses: H1. in parties with stronger electoral performance, the likelihood that women hold leadership positions is lower; H2. more powerful positions have lower female representation; and H3. the effect of electoral strength is stronger in decision-making positions. We compiled an original database of 53,311 observations of state-level party leaders from 33 parties between 2018 and 2022, based on SGIP/TSE data. We classified positions by level of power and estimated linear probability models to assess the effects of party electoral strength and position type, controlling for ideology, internal democracy, type of party body, and state-level GDP per capita. Women hold under 30% of party leadership positions and about 15% of decision-making positions. The results support all three hypotheses: in parties with greater electoral strength, women are less likely to hold leadership positions; more powerful positions are held significantly less often by women; and this pattern is even more pronounced in decision-making roles. Greater internal democracy increases women’s access, while more right-leaning parties and wealthier states reduce it. The findings indicate the presence of a glass ceiling in Brazilian party organizations, with cumulative mechanisms of exclusion at the highest levels of power. The study contributes by applying the concept of the glass ceiling to parties’ internal dynamics and by highlighting the role of organizational structures in sustaining gender inequalities.

Abstract in English:

Abstract Research on subnational policy decision-making has revealed important institutional differences across Brazilian states. Yet these dynamics remain relatively understudied in Brazilian political science, where several federative units continue to be underrepresented. This research note examines Executive–Legislative relations in the state of Acre through the lens of theoretical typologies of interbranch interaction. The analysis covers 3,052 bills introduced between 2007 and 2022 across four legislative terms. Random-effects logistic regression models (GLMMs) are used to estimate the factors associated with bill approval, including ideological proximity between parties, caucus size, membership on the leadership board, affiliation with the governor’s party, and participation in electoral coalitions. The preliminary findings point to a politicized model in which party dynamics play an important role. At the same time, the results reveal institutional features associated with low levels of professionalization, institutionalization, and procedural universalism, alongside a high degree of discretion exercised by legislators holding leadership positions. The study also suggests new avenues for research on state legislatures in Brazil, particularly approaches that systematically incorporate into analytical models both the complexity of Executive–Legislative interactions and the varying degrees of professionalization among legislative assemblies.