Do more minorities in parliament lead to more minorities in government?
Preliminary evidence suggests that there is a relationship between the levels of minority representation in parliament and minority inclusion in government. Having a larger number of minority parliamentarians may not guarantee that a “minority party” will be in government but it does increase the likelihood that the ruling party or coalition will include minorities as cabinet ministers. Having minority voices in government is something that builds from the grassroots up. Local village or town councilors provide the pool from which many state/regional parliamentarians are chosen and that state level then feeds into the candidates who challenge for national office. Similarly, having higher numbers of minorities in the professions doctors, lawyers, teachers, business executives, etc, — will increase the pool of attractive minority candidates for political office.
