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Gender quotas are intended to ensure that a certain number of women are represented in legislature. [1]

Increasing women's representation

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more needs to be added to consequences section of the gender quota article, such as a chart showing each country year of quota implementation, starting representation of women, current representation of women

Placement mandates

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Women's placement on party lists and electoral districts can impact how effective a quota is. In order for quotas to increase women's representation, women must be appointed to 'winnable' constituencies or seats on party ballots, where they have a plausible chance of being elected[2].

In proportional systems, the type of candidate list used by parties in elections can affect the number of women who are elected, whether or not there is a legislated candidate quota.[3] Closed lists tend to yield more effective results than open lists. This is because systems with closed lists can implement placement mandates, which require parties to place women in electable positions on the list. In open list elections, voters select individual candidates based on their preferences, so placement mandates aren't a possibility[4].

There are several types of vertical placement mechanisms:

  • A zipper system requires party lists to alternate candidates between men and women[2].
  • Some countries such as Belgium stipulate that the top two candidates cannot be of the same gender, requiring a woman in the top two positions on the list[5].
  • One out of a group of a certain number of candidates (e.g. 1 woman for every 3 candidates) must be a woman, such as in Argentina[5].

In majoritarian systems, quotas are effective if women are placed in winnable constituencies. For this to occur, proper horizontal placement mechanisms must be instituted based on previous party success or failure in those constituencies[5].

Voluntary Party Quotas

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Voluntary party quotas leave it up to individual parties to implement guidelines regarding how many women are included on party lists[6]. Predominantly found in Europe, these quotas are applied in systems with liberal political culture and left-leaning parties[7]. Voluntary party quotas, like legislated candidate quotas, are most compatible with proportional representation systems[8]. Since the policies are not legally enforced, so their effectiveness varies greatly depending on party success and commitment to the policy[9]. One example of a successful voluntary party quota is South Africa, in which the African National Congress committed to a quota and maintains high representation in the South African parliament[10].

New Longer Lead

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A gender quota is a tool used by countries and parties to increase women's representation in legislature.[11] Women are largely underrepresented in parliaments and account for a 25.8% average in parliaments globally.[12] As of November 2021, gender quotas have been adopted in 132 countries.[13] Around the world, quotas vary greatly in their enforcement and the stage of electoral process targeted, creating three main types of quotas: legislated candidate quotas, voluntary party quotas, and reserved seats[11]. Regardless of their prevalence, they are a controversial measure, creating debates concerning their impacts, both negative and positive[14].

Pros and Cons

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Pros and Cons of Quota Systems[14]
Criticism Advantages
Equal Opportunity Quotas give women preference over male candidates, so they don't follow the principle of equal opportunity. Women face barriers in the electoral process, giving men preference over female candidates, so quotas rectify that inequity.
Single-Member Districts Quotas can't work properly in single-member districts. There are countries with SMD systems that use quotas, such as France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Level of Democracy Quotas are a violation of voter rights because they decide who is elected, not the voters themselves. Political parties have authority over candidate placement and selection on party lists, so they don't violate voter rights.

Quotas can make the nomination process more transparent, aiding democracy.

Merit Quotas suggest that gender determines election of candidates rather than their qualifications, pushing out better qualified candidates. Women are qualified enough for office but those qualifications are overlooked, so quotas help qualified women enter office and push out 'mediocre men'[15].
Stigma Some women may not want to be elected based on their gender. By increasing the number of women in a legislature, quotas decrease the stress that 'token women' face.

Diagram WIPs/Learning Space

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  No Quota
  Legislated Candidate Quota
  Reserved Seats
  Voluntary Party Quota

Case Studies

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Argentina

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Main article: Argentine quota law

Prior to the establishment of a candidate quota in 1991, Argentina's Peronist party used internal party quotas to increase the number of women holding congressional seats. Because the party was so dominant, Argentina had one of the highest proportions of women in legislature in the world at the time[16].

In 1991, Argentina passed Law 24.012, the first national gender quota law in the world. The Ley de Cupos ("Law of Quotas") stipulates that the closed lists of candidates that parties present must be have at least 30% women. It also requires that female candidates are placed in winnable spots on the list, which depended on the number of seats a party is renewing from the previous election[16]. In most contexts, this meant at least one woman candidate for every two men[17]. To ensure compliance, parties that do not present lists meeting these requirements are rejected[16].

In November of 2017, Argentina made changes to its Electoral Code of 2012[18]. By Law No. 27,412 Article 60, party lists were required to follow a zipper system, in which men and women alternated spots on the list[19]. Because of this mechanism, party lists are required to have parity (50% women) in their composition[18].

As of November 1, 2021, there are 42.6% women in the Chamber of Deputies and 40.3% women in the Senate[20].

Germany

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Iceland

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South Africa

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References

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  1. ^ "Gender Quotas | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  2. ^ a b SCHWINDT-BAYER, LESLIE A. (2009). "Making Quotas Work: The Effect of Gender Quota Laws On the Election of Women". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 34 (1): 5–28. ISSN 0362-9805.
  3. ^ Tripp, Aili; Kang, Alice (March 2008). "The Global Impact of Quotas: On the Fast Track to Increased Female Legislative Representation". Comparative Political Studies. 41 (3): 338–361. doi:10.1177/0010414006297342. S2CID 15313816.
  4. ^ SCHWINDT-BAYER, LESLIE A. (2009). "Making Quotas Work: The Effect of Gender Quota Laws On the Election of Women". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 34 (1): 5–28. doi:10.3162/036298009787500330. ISSN 0362-9805. JSTOR 20680225.
  5. ^ a b c Drude, Dahlerup; Zeina, Halal; Nana, Kalandadze; Rumbidzai, Kandawasvika-Nhundu (2013). Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas (PDF). International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. pp. 29–30.
  6. ^ Dahlerup, Drude (2013-05-13). Women, Quotas and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-18652-5.
  7. ^ "Conditions under which voluntary party quotas are most likely applied —". aceproject.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  8. ^ "Factors influencing the implementation of voluntary party candidate quotas —". aceproject.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  9. ^ "Advantages and Disadvantages of Voluntary Party Candidate Quotas for Women's Representation —". aceproject.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  10. ^ "EISA South Africa: Women's representation quotas". www.eisa.org. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  11. ^ a b "Gender Quotas | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  12. ^ "Global and regional averages of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  13. ^ "| International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  14. ^ a b "Gender Quotas | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  15. ^ "Gender quotas and the crisis of the mediocre man". LSE Business Review. 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  16. ^ a b c JONES, MARK P. (1998-02-01). "Gender Quotas, Electoral Laws, and the Election of Women: Lessons from the Argentine Provinces". Comparative Political Studies. 31 (1): 3–21. doi:10.1177/0010414098031001001. ISSN 0010-4140.
  17. ^ Bonder, Gloria; Nari, Marcela. "The 30 Percent Quota Law: A Turning Point for Women's Political Participation in Argentina" (PDF). United Nations.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ a b "| International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  19. ^ "Primera Sección Legislación y Avisos Oficiales" (PDF). Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
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