Women in Politics Status of Women’s Political Participation in Bhutan

The study is based on an exhaustive survey that was conducted from June to July 2011, by the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). The quantitative phase of the survey entailed using questionnaires for 1536 face-to-face interviews with respondents in their homes. The statistical software package SPSS was used for data management and statistical analysis. The quantitative research was supported by focused group discussions with selected groups of people from villages, and a substantive literature review. The main objective of the survey is to establish a strong baseline that indicates the specific issues of concern with regard to women’s participation in local governance in Bhutan.

The main content of the research has been crystallized into four chapters in this report. Chapter 1 provides a broad overview of the socio-cultural context and the evolution of the political system in Bhutan. It highlights the current status of women’s participation in decision-making at both the national and local level, and explains why women’s participation is important. Chapter 2 covers objectives of the study and the methodology used. Chapter 3 presents the results of the research in the form of exhaustive data and the main survey findings, while chapter 4 extrapolates these findings to recommendations and conclusions.