Objective/Context:

The objective of this article is to analyze and determine the reasons which lead the head of a government to appoint women to ministerial posts.

Methodology:

For this article, we consulted studies of the supply, demand and diffusion variables which affect the appointment of women to the cabinets of a government and tested the variables in all groups. We compare Ecuador and Colombia in the period from 1978 to 2018, using an unpublished database (N = 312), with a quarterly measurement. Our analysis employed a multiple regression of ordinary least squares and robust errors.

Conclusions:

We found fluctuations in the representation of women in ministries in both countries throughout the period we studied with more women being appointed to ministerial posts as time passed. Then we realized that the growing number of women with a university education and their presence in a wider range of political factions are the variables which have a positive influence on the appointment of women to governmental cabinets.

Originality:

Research on this subject has increased, but it is generally focused on case studies or employs a multilevel analysis. In addition to cross-comparisons, they limit themselves to annual rather than quarterly measurements due to the meager data which is available. This article is a contribution to the literature on the situation of women ministers: it compares two countries with a similar institutional framework which nevertheless show important variations in the independent variables which were tested.