Quotas for Women in Politics : Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide

In recent years, political parties and national legislatures in more than one hundred countries have adopted quotas for the selection of female candidates to political office. Despite the rapid international diffusion of these measures, most research has focused on single countries - or, at most, the presence of quotas within one world region. Consequently, explanations for the adoption and impact of gender quotas derived from one study often contradict with findings from other cases. Quotas for Women in Politics is the first book to address quotas as a global phenomenon to explain their spread and impact in diverse contexts around the world. It is organized around two sets of questions. First, why are quotas adopted? Which actors are involved in quota campaigns, and why do they support or oppose quota measures? Second, what effects do quotas have on existing patterns of political representation? Are these provisions sufficient for bringing more women into politics? Or, does their impact depend on other features of the broader political context? Synthesizing literature on quota policies, this book develops a framework for analyzing the spread of quota provisions and the reasons for variations in their effects. It then applies this framework to examine and compare campaigns for reserved seats in Pakistan and India, party quotas in Sweden and the United Kingdom, and legislative quotas in Argentina and France. In recent years, political parties and national legislatures in more than 100 countries have adopted quotas for the selection of female candidates to political office. Despite the rapid diffusion of these measures around the globe, most research has focused on single countries or, at most, the presence of quotas within one world region and thus explains their adoption and impact based on a limited range of evidence, which frequently contradicts with findings from other cases. In contrast, this book addresses quotas as a global phenomenon in order to provide greater analytical leverage in explaining their spread and impact in diverse contexts around the world. It is organized around two sets of questions. First, why are quotas adopted? Which actors are involved in quota campaigns, and why do they support or oppose quota measures? Second, what effects do quotas have on existing patterns of political representation? Are these provisions sufficient for bringing more women into politics? Or, does their impact depend on other features of the broader political context? The first three chapters present (1) an overview of quota policies and then develop a framework for analyzing (2) the spread of quota provisions and (3) the reasons for variations in their effects. The following three chapters apply this framework to examine and compare campaigns for (4) reserved seats in Pakistan and India, (5) party quotas in Sweden and the United Kingdom, and (6) legislative quotas in Argentina and France. The book concludes with (7) a discussion of directions for future research Acknowledgments ......Page 8 Contents......Page 12 1 Introduction to Gender Quotas......Page 16 2 The Adoption of Gender Quotas......Page 32 3 The Implementation of Gender Quotas......Page 50 4 Reserved Seats in Pakistan and India......Page 70 5 Party Quotas in Sweden and the United Kingdom......Page 120 6 Legislative Quotas in Argentina and France......Page 174 7 Conclusions and Directions for Future Research......Page 220 Appendix......Page 240 Notes......Page 252 References......Page 258 A......Page 284 C......Page 285 E......Page 287 G......Page 288 H......Page 289 I......Page 290 K......Page 291 M......Page 292 N......Page 293 P......Page 294 Q......Page 296 S......Page 298 U......Page 301 W......Page 302 Z......Page 303