When coalitions matter: level of formalization of domestic women’s coalitions and passage of gender equality legislation

Tripp and Kang (2018) document how the existence of domestic women’s coalitions predict a greater likelihood of the adoption of gender quotas. Yet, coalitions sometimes fail to influence gender policy. The present research builds on prior scholarship to show how the strength and level of formalization of domestic coalitions matter to the passage of gender equality legislation. Political contestation around the Domestic Violence Law, and the Affirmative Action Bill (AAB) in Ghana serve as the cases for the project. Through content and discourse analysis of over 300 newspaper articles covering both bills over a five-year period, and thirteen key-informant interviews with women’s rights advocates and members of parliament in Ghana, we identify important aspects of formalization of coalitions as a key indicator of success in the adoption of gender equality legislation. We argue that coalitions that include stakeholders from across the nation and have strong internal leadership, such as the Domestic Violence Coalition, are able to establish themselves as a key political actor vis a vis the government, create strong internal frames that shape coherent advocacy messages, exploit political opportunities, and increase the likelihood of success. Conversely, loosely structured coalitions—as was the case with the AAB coalition— lack strong internal message frames, and are less successful in communicating movement demands. Moreover, important stakeholders in the policy process may perceive informal coalition partners as having lower levels of commitment to gender equality legislation, lacking legitimacy, and failing to advocate effectively for policy change.