Milcząca nieobecność. Uczestnictwo polityczne kobiet na obszarach wiejskich
Silent absence. Political participation of women from rural areas

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the analysis was to determine the political activity of rural women understood as participation in local self-government structures and auxiliary units. The hypothesis that the probability of success in the public sphere of rural women is lower compared to women living in the city was verified. The most common barriers hindering their political participation were established. We found that the most significant were objective external factors, i.e.: family responsibilities, the patriarchal family model, reluctant attitudes of the environment towards women engaging in public life and numerous stereotypes. The possibilities of acting in the public sphere are also limited by the rural women deficits, i.e. their lower education in comparison with women from cities and lack of self-reliance on their own abilities. Family traditions play significant supporting factors. In the presented paper, the author focused on two, the most important trends related to the participation of rural women in public life/sphere. The first is the systematic increase in the share of women among candidates and councilors of rural and urban-rural municipalities. The second one, the increasing number of women in the group of village leaders (Polish: sołtys). The analysis presented in the article allows to conclude that in comparison with other decision-making levels, the participation of women in public life is visible at the lowest level, i.e. councils of rural and urban-rural municipalities, as well as in auxiliary units of municipalities – villages where they act as a village administrators.

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