Electoral Politics: Making Quotas Work for Women

Electoral Politics: Making Quotas Work for Women presents the current debates and arguments surrounding parliamentary gender quotas from a global perspective. Considering that gender quotas are rapidly diffusing around the world, with diverse specificities and experiences in their implementation, the subject of this book is timely and relevant as discourses of gender equality and democratization are increasingly gaining importance both domestically and internationally. Through close analysis of concepts of representation, democracy, and women’s political rights, this book equips its readers and interested activists with the necessary knowledge and strategies to address women’s underrepresentation, which is currently a global phenomenon. Additionally, this book presents various case studies of successful and not-so-successful quota experiences from diverse countries, to better illustrate the key features of parliamentary gender quotas that effectively enhance women’s access to political decision-making positions, as well as what should be avoided. The authors have carefully analyzed quota experiences in a total of eight countries, ranging from Sweden to Rwanda to Indonesia, with an objective to not only shed light onto the theoretical and practical issues involved with this global and rapidly diffusing phenomenon, but to also practically help further the demands of interested activists and key actors working for the enhancement of women’s political rights and access to political decision-making positions.