Gender disparities across governmental branches: Women’s perceptions in Brazil

Brazilian literature has made little progress in understanding the obstacles and experiences of women in leadership positions within the political sphere. This study addresses this gap by investigating the challenges women face in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches regarding gender inequality. It adopts a qualitative case study approach based on interviews with eighteen women serving as city council members, deputies, judges, municipal secretaries, and mayors from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The findings reveal important nuances that contribute to understanding the path women follow to attain and remain in influential political positions. The participants reported several barriers and situations of prejudice that greatly impacted their performance and, consequently, their constituents and society as a whole. This study sheds light on gender disparities in leadership roles in the three governmental branches, an unprecedented research approach in the Brazilian context.

Keywords:
women in politics; work-family conflict; double burden; gender and the three powers; women’s career.