Gender quotas

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• Gender quotas achievements and problems?
• Dr. Lenita Freidenvall
• Stockholm University
• International conference on
• Supporting women to enter politics
  possibilities of using positive actions
• September 14, 2007 in Prague, the Czech Republic

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Explanatory factors to variations in womens
political representation

• Institutional factors electoral system, party
  system
• Socio-economic factors education, womens
  participation in the work force, welfare
  provisions
• Cultural factors religion, religiosity, gender
  equality culture
• Strategic factors Political party strategies
• (quotas, recommendations, etc.)
• Womens organisations demand
• (autonomous groups, womens sections
  within the parties)

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Quotas a Key to Equality?

• Research project at Stockholm University financed
  by the Swedish Research Council
• 1. Debates on gender quotas
• 2. Adoptions of quotas
• 3. Implementation of quotas
• 4. Consequences of quotas
• www.quotaproject.org

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Research undertakings

• Mapped all countries and political parties having
  introduced gender quotas.
• Made a typology of quota systems
• Constructed theoretical models to be applied when
  analysing the diffusion of gender quotas
• Constructed a web site www.quotaproject.org

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Major results of quota project

• Different types of quotas
• Legal quotas, Voluntary party quotas
• Candidate quotas, reserved seats
• Rapid diffusion of quotas
• 1542 countries with legal quotas, 69 countries
  with voluntary party quotas
• Common in post-conflict countries
• Less common in liberal west democracies
• Quotas represent a fast track
• Difference between incremental track and fast
  track discourses
• Quotas work in some cases, but are neither
  necessary nor sufficient in others
• Good and bad cases

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Different types of quotas

• Quotas vary in terms of where they are mandated
• Legal quotas constitution (15), electoral law
  (42)
• Voluntary party quotas political party statutes
  (69)
• Quotas vary in terms of what level in the
  recruitment process and what institutional level
  they target
• Aspirant level A. Quotas at national level
• Candidate level B. Quotas at sub-national level
• Elected politicians C. Quotas to the EU Parliament

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Three cases

• France 1990s 6.9 200212.2
• Costa Rica 1990s 15.8 200638.6
• Argentina 1999s 6.3 200535.0

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France

• Electoral system two rounds majority system
• Candidate quota (Loi sur la parité 1999, 2000)
• Parties should present 50 male and 50 female
  candidates across all electoral districts for
  national elections
• The penalty for non-compliance is financial

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Costa Rica Argentina

• Electoral system PR-system
• Candidate quotas 1997
• Party lists must contain a minimum of 40 women
• Placements in electable positions
• Sanctions for non-compliance electoral courts
  right to reorder list

• Electoral system PR-system
• Candidate quotas 1991
• Party lists must contain a minimum of 30 women
• Placements strictly regulated
• Sanctions for non-compliance electoral courts
  right to reorder list

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Identified problem

• Quotas work in some cases, but are neither
  necessary nor sufficient in other cases
• Problems in implementation when there are no
  placement requirements
• Problems in implementation when there are no/weak
  sanctions for non-compliance
• Problems in implementation when there is
  no/little support at grass root level

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Ways to handle these problems

• A double condition of quota laws proportion and
  placement
• Strong sanctions for non-compliance - electoral
  courts having the right to reject party lists
  and/or substantial reductions of party subsidies
• Double strategy (top/down bottom up)
• cross-party cooperation, links between party
  activists and womens organizations, links to
  party leaders/ political leaders.

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Read more

• Drude Dahlerup, ed. (2006), Women, quotas and
  politics. London Routledge.
• Lenita Freidenvall et al (2006), The Nordic
  Countries an Incremental Model in Dahlerup ed.
  Women, quotas and politics. London Routledge.
• Drude Dahlerup Lenita Freidenvall
  (2005),Quotas as a Fast Track to Equal
  Representation for Women in International
  Feminist Journal of Politics, 71, March 2005,
  pp. 26.48.

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• Thank you!