Exploring Political Participation and Leadership Approach of Women Political Leaders in Mindanao

Abstract

Increasing the number of women occupying political posts in the country is a key focus of Republic Act (RA) No. 9710, the Magna Carta of Women. While there has been a steady numeric improvement (Tancangco, 1990), studies on entry points of women politicians into the political arena and the type of leadership approach that they cultivate remains wanting of attention. District II of Zamboanga del Norte is selected as the study site, given that the area from 2016 to 2018 hosted a significant number of women political leaders: three Vice-Mayors, two Mayors, and a member of the House of Representatives. Such number is not present in other parts of Mindanao. Guided by the qualitative narrative approach (Creswell, 2014), the stories of the key informants were gathered through semi-structured interviews on-site and then validated after the informants read, clarified, and discussed their narratives further. Aided by Agarwal's (2001) political participation and Batliwala's (2010) feminist leadership, the unfolding meaning of the generated data suggests that the brand of political leadership among women politicians in District II of Zamboanga del Norte has the following intersecting concerns: searching for political identities, addressing the practical needs of their constituents, concretizing one or two landmark projects within their political terms, and reflecting on some constraints to their aspirations for higher political office.