The intersectional dynamics of descriptive representation: Political opportunity structures for ethnic minority women in white settler-colonial Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract Ethnic racialised minorities – many of whom are recent migrants from Asia, Latin America, and Middle East - constitute approximately 17% of the population of Aotearoa New Zealand. The rapid diversification of the population has implications politically, and in recent years, the number of minority women entering political life has increased perceptibly although not proportional to their population numbers. Despite the race-gender diversification in national and local politics, there is little understanding of the factors that enable or act as barriers to representation. Adapting Karen Bird’s (2005) political opportunities framework through integration of gendered structural perspectives, our presentation examines the micro-contexts, macro-contexts, and political structures that enable/actively inhibit minority and migrant women to enter politics. Beyond narratives of ‘demand-supply’, the findings speak to New Zealand’s unique white settler, indigenous and migration histories, Mixed Member Proportional political systems, and political misogyny particularly in the era post-Jacinda Ardern. Part of a multi-method study, it draws on interviews with 27 ethnic minority women politicians and key informants and secondary data including media reports, political speeches, and policy statements and positions. References Karen Bird (2005) The Political Representation of Visible Minorities in Electoral Democracies: A Comparison of France, Denmark, and Canada, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 11:4, 425-465, DOI: 10.1080/13537110500379211.