Authors: Ms Sak Sreynoch and Dr Khath Bunthorn, Research Associates at CDRI’s Centre for Governance and Inclusive Society

Key messages

·        The representation paradox: While grassroots civic participation among women is remarkably high, this descriptive representation does not seamlessly translate into substantive representation in formal local leadership.

·        Social capital as a stepping stone: For rural women, volunteerism is not merely about skill-building; it is the primary mechanism for accumulating the social capital and community trust necessary to enter formal politics.

·        Institutional culture and allyship: Building true male allyship often requires bridging entrenched communication gaps; targeted capacity training can strategically equip female leaders to navigate gender dynamics, assert their perspectives, and win the respect of their male counterparts.

·        Emerging structural lessons: Bridging the gap between community activism and formal governance requires targeted, context-specific interventions, including formalised mentorship and equitable household labour distribution—alongside structural reforms within political parties to prioritise women for executive roles like the Commune Chief.

Women’s participation in local governance is a recognised catalyst for inclusive community development and responsive public service delivery. Yet, a persistent paradox remains: women are highly active in grassroots civic life but severely underrepresented in formal decision-making roles.

Currently, women hold just 14 percent of seats on Commune/Sangkat Councils, and only 10.5 percent (173 out of 1,652) serve as Commune Chiefs. These roles represent the primary seats of formal authority, holding the legal mandate to manage local budgets and administrative policy. While these statistics highlight a clear gender gap, they do not capture the underlying institutional hurdles or the lived experiences of those navigating these systems.

To unpack the mechanisms behind this gap, we conducted qualitative fieldwork in Kampong Chhnang province in June 2024. Selected for its dynamic socio-economic transition and active commune councils, the province serves as an ideal lens for examining rural political trajectories. While this qualitative approach—based on in-depth, semi-structured key informant interviews with six local leaders (five women and one man)[1]—does not offer a comprehensive, nationwide baseline, it provides a crucial exploratory snapshot of the lived experiences of rural leaders. Through this localised lens, this blog explores the intersection of individual agency and systemic structures that define women’s pathways to local leadership.

The grassroots paradox: High participation, low power

Our fieldwork revealed a striking baseline of female civic engagement. Community Accountability Facilitators (CAFs), Usaphea (39) and Sreyleap (32), highlighted the robust presence of neary sakam (active women) in local affairs. They observed that women frequently account for 70 to 90 percent of attendees at public commune meetings.

However, this high level of descriptive representation—having women in the room—rarely translates into substantive representation, where women hold the authority to shape policy and resource allocation. Transitioning from a community participant to a formal political leader requires navigating a complex web of social and institutional barriers.

Building the foundation: Social capital and individual agency

For women entirely outside the formal political sphere, breaking in requires immense individual agency and the deliberate cultivation of networks.

Volunteering as a mechanism for social capital

We found that volunteerism serves as the critical bridge between the private sphere and public office. It is not merely a chance to learn administrative skills; it is how women build social capital—the localised trust, visibility, and networks necessary to mount a successful political career. Several leaders we interviewed, including Heng, Sophea, and Chantima—now heads and focal persons for the Commune Committee for Women and Children (CCWC)—leveraged volunteerism as their entry point. Heng (72) and Sophea (36) previously volunteered for Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC), where they received mentoring that demystified the political process. Similarly, Chantima (24) parlayed her visibility as a village health volunteer into a formal CCWC role.

Personal drive overcoming structural deficits

When institutional or structural support is absent, personal agency must fill the void. Family dynamics often dictate a woman’s political viability, serving as either a launchpad or a barrier. Chantima benefited from unwavering familial support, which absorbed the logistical burdens of her community work. Conversely, Heng and Sophea noted an initial lack of encouragement from their husbands. Their eventual success was driven by sheer personal determination, demonstrating that while unsupportive family structures complicate the journey, fierce individual agency can overcome them.

Navigating the institution: Structural barriers and enablers

Once women accumulate the social capital to enter formal governance, their ability to thrive depends heavily on the institutional structures and norms within the commune council.

Institutionalising support through mentorship

Mentorship transforms individual success into systemic change by creating a pipeline of female leaders. Heng, inspired by a former female commune chief, entered politics in 2007 and rose to the position of second deputy chief. Crucially, Heng utilised her platform to mentor Sophea, who was subsequently elected as the first deputy chief of a neighbouring commune. This cascading effect highlights how female role models lower the psychological and practical barriers to entry for the next generation.

The limits and necessities of male allyship

The role of male colleagues in shaping institutional culture cannot be overstated. Sophat (72), a male commune chief, recognised that his female council members drove tangible improvements in social services and community hygiene.

However, navigating male-dominated spaces remains a practical challenge. Sophea noted that while female councillors often have a more nuanced understanding of community vulnerabilities, communicating these priorities to male counterparts can be difficult. She highlighted that capacity training in gender awareness equipped her and other female councillors with the tools to bridge this gap and better navigate men’s perspectives. This strategic adaptability was instrumental in earning the respect of their male peers and local citizens, ultimately unlocking crucial male allyship. This underscores how targeted capacity building can help women effectively navigate and influence the institutional culture around them.

Emerging lessons and areas for exploration

Despite the resilience of leaders in Kampong Chhnang, the barriers to female leadership—disproportionate household care burdens, and entrenched political cultures—remain largely systemic. While these findings reflect a specific localised context, they highlight several potential pathways that warrant further exploration by local and national stakeholders:

• Exploring formalised mentorship: Local governance frameworks could pilot structured mentorship networks, connecting veteran female politicians with emerging community volunteers to see if the Kampong Chhnang model scales.

• Reevaluating capacity building: Rather than solely training women to navigate male-dominated spaces, policymakers might explore gender-transformative training for male local leaders to cultivate genuine allyship and inclusive council environments. Currently, female leaders are often relegated to “women’s affairs” roles, such as the CCWC. However, our fieldwork reveals that both men and women view female leaders as having a better understanding of villagers’ complaints and local grievances. This suggests a much wider scope for women’s roles; by training male leaders to foster more inclusive environments, councils can better leverage this unique capacity for responsive service across all areas of local governance.

• Debating structural reforms: As qualitative evidence points to steep systemic barriers, there is an ongoing need for a broader national conversation regarding structural reforms, particularly within political parties, which play a decisive role in candidate nomination and leadership selection. Strengthening internal party policies, such as prioritising and supporting female candidates for winnable positions, could significantly improve women’s chances of being elected as commune chiefs.

By addressing both the individual need for social capital and the structural need for institutional reform, Cambodia can ensure that the women filling the seats at public meetings today become the commune chiefs of tomorrow.