Unequal Access to Power in Corruption Networks: Evidence from Colombia

Abstract

Corruption is embedded in networks of access, coordination, and protection, yet little is known about how gender shapes actors' positions within them. This article examines whether corruption networks in Colombia's territorial press reproduce gendered patterns of exclusion. Drawing on an access-to-power perspective, we argue that women's lower presence may reflect unequal incorporation into the spaces where exchanges are organized. Empirically, we use Transparencia por Colombia's Radiograf\'ia de Hechos de Corrupci\'on, integrating case- and actor-level information to build co-participation networks. We analyze gender differences in composition, position, recurrence, and institutional access to resources. Results show that these networks are strongly masculinized: men dominate actors and ties, and women appear less often among recurrent actors. However, women are not absent from connected or dense areas, suggesting uneven rather than absolute exclusion. The findings shift attention from whether women are ''less corrupt'' to how unequal access to power structures participation in corruption networks.