Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this contribution we study the conditions under which gender quotas tend to get adopted and applied. The hypothesis underlying this paper is the fact that gender quotas get adopted and applied in a political environment which is already ‘women-friendly’. The reason for this is that the literature mentions the same facilitating conditions when it comes to the adoption or application of gender quotas than when it comes to the presence of women in (electoral) politics. Such facilitating conditions are, next to a PR system, a high district or rather party magnitude, a leftist value orientation and a considerable number of women activists. Analyzing the gender quotas which Belgian parties applied at the occasion of the 2006 local elections and their attitude towards such measures, we find indeed more of such measures and a more positive attitude towards such measures within parties with a leftist, and especially ecological, orientation; where district magnitude is high, including a low number of coalition partners and the absence of electoral cartels; and where the number of women in the local section is important, in terms of party members, of members of the party bureau or women elected. At first sight we can, then, conclude that gender quotas mainly get adopted under circumstances making them superfluous. Quotas, then, do not set the norm but they confirm it in cases where such a measure is not imposed by external actors. As such, this is no reason to be sceptical about gender quotas, because the standard can rise over time. Also, since gender quotas tend to confirm the norm, they are still more than a window-dressing operation. Given the circumstances under which gender quotas get applied are already women-friendly, quotas confirm this facilitating environment.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In 1991, Argentina was the first country in the world to pass a national gender quota law in an effort to increase the representation of women in its congress. Since that time, an additional twenty-four amendments. Yet, initial evidence suggests that many quota laws have not been as effective at increasing women’s representation as expected. What makes some gender quotas more effective than others at increasing representation of women? I argue that three key components of quota laws are likely to explain their effectiveness – the quota’s target (i.e., the percentage of women that the law requires political parties to nominate), whether the law stipulates placement mandates for where women must be included on party ballots, and whether the law provides a means for enforcement. In this paper, I present a statistical model that tests the effect of these three characteristics of quota laws on the percentage of women elected to national legislatures in countries with quotas while controlling for characteristics of the wider political and socioeconomic context in which elections take place. I find that higher quota targets and placement mandates independently increase the election of women while enforcement mechanisms play a role only in combination with higher targets and placement mandates. Thus, quotas can be effective mechanisms to increase women’s representation, but their effectiveness depends on the specific rules employed as part of the quota.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Based on the first global overview over the use of electoral gender quotas (www.quotaproject.org ) , this paper argues, that the Scandinavian countries are no longer the model for women's parliamentary representation. The present fast spread of quotas systems through an international process of "translation" represents a new "fast track" to increase in women's representation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: During the last two decades large numbers of women have entered parliaments in several east and southern African countries. In mid 2007, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa in southern Africa and Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda in east Africa all had national legislatures ranging from 25 to nearly 50 percent women, placing them in the top 30 worldwide. This is far above the Sub-Saharan African and world averages of about 17 percent women in a single or lower house of parliament. This development is part of a global trend whereby women are using electoral gender quotas to take a ‘fast track’ to equal legislative representation. The six countries identified here share a set of common characteristics explaining women’s electoral success, with one important difference. The three southern African cases have all increased their percentages of women in parliament using a proportional representation electoral system and voluntary political party based quotas. The three east African cases have done the same through the use of a mix of electoral systems and mandatory ‘special’ or ‘reserved seats’ for women. This paper describes the two alternatives, discusses their impact on women’s descriptive and substantive representation in these six African countries and concludes with a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of electoral gender quota.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper explores the impact of gender quotas on the public's assessment of women. Specifically, have women's evaluations of political opportunity been impacted by increased exposure to women in leadership?