Shuffled and Shortchanged? The Gender Gap in Cabinet Shuffles in Africa

Abstract

This article examines gendered patterns of cabinet appointments and shuffles by African heads of state. While a handful of previous studies have systematically analysed how regime type influences cabinet reshuffles in African autocracies, the gender dynamics of cabinet survival and replacement in the region remain underexplored. Using a cross-national dataset of 3,829 ministerial appointments from 1990 to 2021, I model the impact of individual-level factors on survival probabilities and cabinet shuffles. The findings reveal that women serve shorter tenures than men, even in high-prestige portfolios, but survival probabilities are not statistically related to gender when controlling for age, credentials, and political and socioeconomic factors. However, when cabinets are shuffled, women are significantly more likely than men to be succeeded by someone of the other gender. This study contributes to research on gender and cabinet politics by showing that, beyond political and socio-economic variables, individual-level factors significantly shape cabinet survival and shuffles in Africa.