On March 2, researcher S.Tumendelger presented the results of her study on public perceptions of women’s participation in decision-making.
One in five respondents and one in 10 men do not think that women have good leadership skills, according to the survey. Moreover, 44.3 percent of the participants said that men should be more involved in supporting their families and managing household financing, while 61.3 percent of them view that the wife should take care of young children. Some 76.6 percent said that both spouses should supervise and be more involved in how their partner behave.
In general, the researcher concluded that people have a stereotype that men are visionary, determined, courageous, straightforward, and are given the power to rule and govern. S.Tumendelger commented that interestingly, the public also expects women to be resolute, courageous and militant.
On the other hand, the idea of imposing unpaid labor obligations on women is common to people of all ages and genders. For example, most respondents saw a woman as unsuitable for a managerial position. Although they viewed that women are more meticulous and able to evaluate things from many aspects, they noted that women are better suited for executive role than management roles.
Furthermore, 58.9 percent of men and 28.5 percent of women surveyed said they would support women’s participation in politics, while 28.3 percent of female participants highlighted they would support both men’s and women’s political participation. Also, 87.9 percent of women and 80.9 percent of men believe that women can work at the policy and legislative levels. Considering the turnout in the 2020 parliamentary elections, the number of women who voted for female candidates was higher than the number of men who supported women politicans.
Based on gender equality and gender representation, as well as party membership and action plans, women participants are more likely to support female candidates in elections. Men are more likely to support women as a team/based on their political party and vote for women if they have sufficient experience, according to the research.
Participants also voted for low-income politicians, regardless of gender. The survey found that money and assets were not important factors in the election.
As for women politicians, there was a high level of public support for their candidacy for province, capital city, soum and district councils, while their participation in the parliamentary elections was relatively low at 53.8 percent.
Moreover, 48.8 percent of women believe that the proportion of women in Parliament is insufficient, 39.6 percent of men consider it reasonable, and 34.5 percent of men view it sufficient.
The survey involved 1,006 people from seven provinces and six districts in Ulaanbaatar. Their average age was 42 and 53.6 percent of the participants were women. As part of the research methodology, 201 people participated in the key informant interview, of which 45.3 percent were men. In addition, 26 people were interviewed individually and 76 in the focus group.