Gender and corruption

The links between gender and corruption: an overview

Research studies and corruption surveys show that:

• Experiences of corruption are gendered, i.e. they exhibit gender-differentiated patterns. This is especially visible with non-monetary forms of corruption such as sexual corruption.
• Effects of corruption are also gendered.
• Women’s participation in the labour force and decision-making is co-related with reduced levels of corruption.

For these reasons, mainstreaming gender in anti-corruption efforts is indispensable.

Experiences of corruption are gendered

Corruption is not gender-neutral. Men, women, (and gender-diverse people) are affected by corruption in different ways and are subjects and objects of different corrupt practices and behaviour (UNODC, 2020).

Social constructions of gender, which determine the distribution of power, opportunities, resources and responsibilities heavily influence individuals’ participation in, exposure to, and experiences of corruption. Evidence indicates that gender norms often result in distinct patterns of exposure to corruption for men and women. While men are more likely to confront corruption in domains such as business and law enforcement, women tend to encounter heightened susceptibility to corruption within social sectors like education and healthcare due to their domestic and caregiving responsibilities.

Women also face disproportionate exposure to corruption in male-dominated sectors due to lack of agency and general ingrained power imbalances between men and women. A brief by the Swedish international development agency identifies four areas where women are more susceptible to corruption than men:

1. When accessing basic services, markets, and credit.
2. While engaging in politics.
3. In situations where women’s rights are violated (eg, trafficking and sexual extortion).
4. In situations where there is negligence and/or mismanagement for example during conflict and humanitarian situations.

Not all bribery involves the exchange of money

One unique form of corruption predominantly experienced by women is sexual. It is a form of corruption that occurs when a person with entrusted authority abuses this authority to obtain a sexual favour in exchange for a service or benefit which is within their power to grant or withhold (Eldén et al. 2020, Bjårnegard et al. 2024).

Research from Latin America and the Caribbean found that one in five people had either experienced sexual corruption (also commonly known as sextortion) or knew someone who had. Data also shows that 71% of people think that sexual corruption happens at least occasionally. Despite its prevalence, sexual corruption is neither recognised as a form of corruption, nor criminalised in most jurisdictions. Law enforcement officers have to rely on a patchwork of both gender-based violence (GBV) and anti-corruption (AC) legislation that neither covers all the ways in which the practice manifests nor guarantees effective prosecution (Guilherme 2022).

The requirement to prove 'lack of consent' as an element of a sexual crime makes it hard to successfully prosecute the phenomenon under GBV legal frameworks. Similarly, the narrow conceptualisation of corruption as only pertaining to monetary or materialistic exchanges means sexual corruption can neither be categorised nor prosecuted as corruption under most AC laws.

This analysis is however based on data from select countries. A more comprehensive assessment of national legal frameworks is required to understand the context-specific legislative challenges and opportunities for tackling sexual corruption.

More data on the prevalence and causes are also needed to understand how sexual corruption manifests (its gendered elements), the drivers underlying its prevalence, and its differentiated effect on different sections of society. The current analysis relies on a relatively small sample of countries worldwide.

Corruption’s effects are also highly gendered

Corruption reduces state revenues, diverts public resources away from public services (on which women tend to be more reliant), and limits women’s access to justice, economic and political opportunities (Barnes and Beaulieu 2014). Petty corruption, which is often associated with public service delivery also casts a disproportionate financial burden on women and women-headed households as it takes up a significant amount of their already meagre income, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.

The gendered impacts of corruption are felt most by persons at the intersection of multiple factors of precarity such as poverty, undocumented status, occupation in the informal sector, limited educational opportunities or lack of legal identity (Bullock and Jenkins 2020:15). Age, sexual orientation, disability, and geographical location may also determine if someone is targeted for corruption and what forms of corruption they may be exposed to (Wanyana 2023).

Available evidence suggests that sexual minorities, women migrants, women living in poverty, internally displaced persons, and refugees particularly experience high levels of corruption related to sex trafficking, sextortion, survival sex, and petty bribery (Poder Ciudadano 2021; Abut 2022b; McDonald, Jenkins and Fitzgerald 2021: 32-39).

Women’s participation in decision-making is crucial for anti-corruption efforts

Several studies over the last twenty years have shown that there is a correlation between women’s participation in public life and levels of corruption. A 2001 study initiated the debate, finding a significant negative correlation between female parliamentarians and corruption levels, suggesting that higher rates of female participation in government lead to lower corruption. This was supported by another study pointing to women being less likely to engage in or condone bribery – with corruption being less severe where women are more prevalent in parliament, senior government positions, and the labour force.

These findings sparked controversy by potentially reinforcing gender stereotypes, inferring women as a "fairer sex" and a new anti-corruption force, spurring further studies that largely confirmed this correlation.

One study proposed that the effect of women reducing corruption is more pronounced in democratic states than authoritarian ones, due to the higher risk of exposure and punishment for corruption. Another study says that the relationship between women’s representation and reduced levels of corruption is more robust in contexts where there is substantive representation of women – not just having more women in decision-making positions, but having in place women-friendly policies such as generous maternity leave. This indicates that women in office indirectly reduce corruption by advocating for policies that address women's issues.

Other research suggests that the observed relationship might be because corruption itself hinders women's participation in public life. It points out barriers such as sexism, financial constraints, and social norms that limit women's access to power and therefore opportunities to be involved in corruption, rather than women being inherently less corrupt. Despite the nuances in all these studies, the preponderance of evidence indicates that women’s participation in decision-making is an important element in efforts to reduce corruption.

We need to get gender mainstreaming right

As gender is at the centre of corruption, there is a consensus that interventions to address corruption must apply a gender lens to be more effective. The journey of mainstreaming gender in anti-corruption efforts has, however, been characterised by some pitfalls. These include the tendency to view gender as synonymous with women – or as a mere distinction between women and men. There is also a tendency to treat men and women as monolithic groups (Abril 2023). This limits more effective approaches grounded in thorough gender analysis and a more inclusive conception of gender that not only entails women, but looks at how women, men, and gender-diverse groups interrelate.

Best practices also recommend applying an intersectionality approach to make gender mainstreaming more effective. Intersectionality helps to understand how gender as a cross-cutting socio-cultural variable may interact with other characteristics such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religion, age, socioeconomic status, disability, geographical location, etc., to define a person’s opportunities, conditions in life, and ultimately how they are impacted by corruption.

UN Women has published a comprehensive guide to integrating intersectionality across programme- and policy cycles, while the OECD provides practical recommendations to address the “add women and stir” approach.

Systematically mainstreaming gender across the project cycle helps capture the varied impacts of corruption on groups at risk of discrimination and mitigates unintended negative consequences for already marginalised groups.

Other resources

Different international organisations have designed tools and methodologies for mainstreaming gender across the projects and programmes in both the private and public sector, which can be drawn on and adapted into anti-corruption programming:

AFDB’s Checklist for gender mainstreaming in governance programmes provides a framework for the integration of gender issues into the Bank’s operations and whole cycle of Bank governance interventions. The checklist can be used by private sector entities intent on adapting their operations to be gender responsive and ultimately corruption resistant.

CIVICUS' Guidelines for gender mainstreaming in programme stages provides step by step guidance to project teams on gender mainstreaming across the project stages including identification, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.

EuropeAid's Mainstreaming gender equality through the programme approach is a blueprint for governments to (re)organise, improve, develop and evaluate policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy making.

FAO’s Guide to mainstreaming gender in FAO’s programme cycle provides basic sets of questions and tools to guide project staff on how to mainstream gender issues across the project cycle. The guide can be useful for anti-corruption measures in humanitarian contexts and in service related programmes such as livelihood and food security programmes and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

IDB’s Toolkit for mainstreaming gender in MIF programmes is designed to help teams understand the social context, including the social and cultural norms and practices in a project context, and put them into consideration in project development to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency.

UNDP’s Gender mainstreaming made easy: Handbook for programme staff and UNODC's Mainstreaming gender in corruption programmes provide detailed frameworks to assist with mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development of programmes and projects to prevent and combat corruption, in line with the UN Convention against Corruption. They identify some of the main issues related to gender and corruption to help with the situational analysis as well as provide practical tips on how to mainstream gender in formulating project objectives, outcomes, outputs, indicators and activities.

UNIDO’s Gender mainstreaming checklist for programmes and Gender mainstreaming guide provide a succinct guide and checklist to formulate a project that analyses the roles and needs of women and men, and addresses any gender inequalities so that women and men can equally access, equally participate in, and equally benefit from the resources, services, capacity building, and other activities offered by the project.