Elected Women, Unelected Bureaucrats: Women Deputy Mayors and Bureaucratic Authority in Local Governments of Nepal

The adoption of gender quotas has increased women’s descriptive representation in local government. However, their formal inclusion does not necessarily translate to substantive authority. This study explores how bureaucratic authority embedded within gendered institutional norms shapes the political agency of women deputy mayors in Nepal’s newly federalized local governments. Based on qualitative data from 15 municipalities and rural municipalities, the findings show that bureaucratic discretion manifested through loyalty to male mayors, informational gatekeeping and gendered narratives of incompetence constrain women’s authority and limit their participation in decision-making processes. Bureaucratic ‘neutrality’ functions less as impartial mediation than as a practice that legitimizes hierarchical alignment and sustains existing power asymmetries. Yet, within these constraints, women deputy mayors mobilize their professional expertise, strategic alliances and procedural engagement to assert their agency and influence decision-making. This study argues that achieving gender equality in local governance depends not only on electoral inclusion but also on reforming the bureaucratic structure through which authority is exercised.