Political cleaners: How women are the new anti-corruption force

This paper explores the emergence of the myth of women's lesser propensity than men to engage in corrupt activity. It shows that the notion that women are more likely to behave with probity and integrity, is ironically the reverse of a myth that has kept them out of the public realm for centuries. It then examines the evidence for the new image of women as political cleaners mainly based upon assumptions about women's inherent probity made by a range of actors, including women themselves. It suggest that gendered opportunities can be understood by examining how women are recruited into and treated within key institutions that shape public life, such as political parties and state bureaucracies. The example of South Asia is used to illustrate this. What matters is not the simple access of women to power and public life. What matters is the means of their access and the nature of the institutions in which they function. It concludes by asking whether it is useful to analyze problems of governance from a gender perspective.