Women’s Career Move From Local to National Politics: The Case of Tanzania

Abstract

This study examines women’s career movement from the highest local authorities (district and urban councils) to the national legislature in Tanzania, focusing on the latest three parliaments (2010–2025). Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we find that less than 10% of female parliamentarians in each parliament have prior councilor experience and most of them occupy quota seats. The low upward mobility of female councilors to parliament may be due to the difficulty of winning constituency seats, affected by gender stereotypes, and the availability of other pathways to parliament, such as party leadership and commissioner positions.