This study examines how institutional designs—specifically electoral systems and gender quotas—shape the political experiences of Indigenous women candidates. Drawing on data from the 2025 Bolivian module of the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS), it explores how intersecting identities of gender and ethnicity influence candidate selection and campaign experiences across different electoral frameworks.
Bolivia offers a particularly revealing case, combining proportional representation and single-member districts under a system of gender parity and alternation since 2010. While these measures have advanced women’s descriptive representation, preliminary findings suggest that Indigenous women continue to face distinct barriers linked to both party gatekeeping and internal community dynamics. Their candidacies are often contested not only within political parties but also within Indigenous organizations, where traditional leadership structures can limit women’s political advancement.
By integrating an intersectional perspective into the comparative study of candidate experiences, this project highlights the limits of gender quotas when applied within intercultural democracies. It argues that formal mechanisms promoting equality may inadvertently reproduce hierarchies when they overlook the specific power relations embedded in local governance and Indigenous community structures. The results aim to contribute to ongoing debates on how institutional frameworks can better support inclusive political participation and representation in diverse societies.
