Women’s political participation on social media: the case of Tanzania

This short, developmental paper outlines the rationale and design of a future study relating to women’s political participation on social media. The impact of social media upon women’s political participation is a topic that has gained some momentum. The affordances of social media now potentially enable women to create, access and distribute content relating to political issues and participate in an online space freely. This article highlights the role that social media can play in enabling more balanced participation and also highlights that despite the potential, there is a lack of IS literature exploring women’s use of social media for political participation. This article outlines the aim of the study: to explore what types of platforms women prefer to use for political participation and the factors that influence women’s participation in political issues on social media. The research focuses on the case of Tanzania and proposes steps going forward.