User login
 
Quotas

Quotas, a formal mechanism that enhances women’s participation and representation, are being increasingly implemented. Gender quotas ensure that women constitute a specific number or percentage of the members of a body, be it a candidate list, a parliamentary assembly, a committee or the government. Another benefit is that quotas help reduce the gap between the numbers of women and men represented in the political arena.

There are different types of quotas, with the main distinction being between legislative and constitutional quotas on the one hand and voluntary political party quotas on the other. Legislative and constitutional quotas are based on legal provisions, officially mandating that all political entities participating in elections apply them equally. Voluntary political party quotas are set by the political parties themselves, in order to guarantee the nomination of a certain number or proportion of women.

Quotas can be applied in the nomination process or be results-based, such as quotas that depend on how many seats a party is given. In order to gain a better understanding of the types of quotas that work most effectively, their use should be examined in the context of the electoral system. In this section, you will find information and publications about different types of quotas, materials concerning the effective application of quotas and an overview of the countries using them (see the Quota Project).

From the Library

Consolidated Response on Experiences in Implementing Parity Laws to Improve Women's Political Representation

The adoption of the parity law in Senegal is an important step on the way to increased political participation and equal political representation of women.  Senegal’s women were rightfully proud of this landmark achievement, but other countries’ experiences with parity laws show that there is long road between the adoption of such laws and their effective implementation. 

This consolidated response will detail how parity laws have been implemented elsewhere, what aspects of their implementation bring most difficulties, and how such potential stumbling blocks could be overcome.  It will focus in particular on current developments in the Arab states, where the recent revolutions have led to the revision of certain political and electoral systems.  

Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties

How women participate in political parties – and how those parties encourage and nurture women’s involvement and incorporate gender-equality issues – are key determinants of women’s political empowerment. They are also key to ensuring gender-equality issues are addressed in the wider society. If strategies to promote women’s involvement in the political process are to be effective, they should be linked to steps parties can take across the specific phases of the electoral cycle – the preelectoral, electoral and post-electoral phases – and to the organization and financing of the parties themselves. 
 
The most effective strategies to increase women’s participation in political parties combine reforms to political institutions with targeted support to women party activists within and outside party structures, women candidates and elected officials. These strategies require the cooperation of a variety of actors and political parties from across the political spectrum.
 
The Guide identifies targeted interventions that political parties can take to empower women. It is structured according to four phases, following an electoral cycle approach.

The Arab Quota Report: Selected Case Studies

Debates on women’s issues and gender relations in the Arab region have been going on for some time now. Such matters are often the most difficult to resolve and, in this age of economic and cultural globalization, they continue to create the same paradoxical situations as they did during the colonial era more than a century ago. To complicate things further, these debates frequently lead to accusations and counteraccusations about cultural authenticity and the degree to which attempts to improve the status of women are indigenous or foreign. Within this environment, Arab women, sometimes assisted by their governments and leaderships, have been trying to pave the way for their political participation.

This paper first summarizes the socio-political and economic situation in the region. It then moves on to a discussion of the political status of Arab women, highlighting their representation in legislatures. The third section looks at the key challenges that confront Arab women who wish to enter the political domain, and the final section focuses on some of the opportunities on offer and the mechanisms that have been employed successfully to enhance women’s political participation.

Designing for Equality: Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas

This publication provides an overview of the ‘fit’ of the various electoral systems with different kinds

of quota and thereby assesses how increased women’s representation can be achieved under different combinations of electoral systems and quotas. It aims to serve as a reference tool for all those who work to increase women’s representation in politics.

Women in politics and decision making positions

Political party manifestos are a strategy to ensure women representation in all the political party structures. This is evident in manifesto of The African National Congress Party as an example. With such a provision in place women are covered in terms of numbers, though it does not automatically translate into their effective participation.

Benchmarking National Legislation for Gender Equality: Findings from Five Asian Countries

The publication reviews the legal systems of Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet nam and assesses the extent of their legislative compliance with articles of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination agaisnt Women (CEDAW). The convention is an important international reference point for gender equality. The State Parties to CEDAW are legally bound to apply and enforce its articles in their legal systems. In this legislative assessment study only de jure compliance to CEDAW is assessed for the countries. But even for this, the findings reveal a varying level of legislative compliance. Overall, no country has achieved full compliance with CEDAW's articles. The extent of compliance ranges between 45 to 73 per cent, within de jure laws, with Viet Nam coming closest to the CEDAW benchmarks.

Women’s Representation in Local Government in Asia-Pacific: Going beyond National Targets in Monitoring Status for MDG 3 on Women’s Political Empowerment

More Asia Pacific countries than ever before have elected local governments and national parliaments. Despite the progress made in establishing democratic institutions in the Asia Pacifi c, women continue to participate unequally both as voters and as candidates. Equality of opportunity in politics is a human right. Despite international eff orts to strengthen the conduct of free and fair
elections throughout the world, insuffi cient attention and resources have been devoted to addressing the gap between male and female political participation.

By not measuring the percentage of women represented in sub-national governments with any MDG target, national strategies risk ignoring one of the most important arenas for women’s political participation. As part of the Millennium Project, the Task Force on Education and Gender Equality has identifi ed increasing women’s share of seats in national and local government bodies, as
one of the seven strategic priorities needed to achieve MDG 3 on gender equality2. To this end, the Task Force proposed the inclusion of an indicator (additional to the numbers of women in national parliament) on the percentage of seats held by women in local government bodies.

The local governments, through their national associations and global umbrella body, have expressed their commitment to the development, promotion and support of gender equality. The International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) sets out its Worldwide Declaration on Women in Local Government.

It is on this basis that the fi rst ever status report on Women’s Representation in Local Government in the Asia Pacific has been developed. This will contribute to the monitoring of the achievement of MDG 3 with the objective of deepening the understanding of the progress made towards goals set within the Millennium Declaration at all levels of government and all other commitments on gender equality, including international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) CEDAW and BPfA.

Rwanda: Women Hold Up Half the Parliament

In October 2003, women won 4. percent of seats in Rwanda’s lower house of Parliament.  Having achieved near-parity in the representation of men and women its legislature, this small African country now ranks first among all countries of the world in terms of the number of women elected to parliament. 

The dramatic gains for women are a result of specific mechanisms used to increase women’s political participation, among them a constitutional guarantee, a quota system, and innovative electoral structures. This case study will describe those mechanisms and attempt to explain their origins, focusing in particular on the relationship between women’s political representation and the organized women’s movement, significant changes in gender roles in post-genocide Rwanda, and the commitment of Rwanda’s ruling party, the RPF, to gender issues. It will also briefly introduce some of the achievements and challenges ahead for women in Rwanda’s Parliament. 

To access the document, please click here.  

Asia-Pacific Human Development Report: POWER, VOICE and RIGHTS - A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific

UNDP's Asia Pacific Human Development Reports have been stimulating a lively dialogue within the region on a range of important issues. Prepared by experts from Asia and the Pacific, the Reports present an authentic account of human development progress, possibilities, and challenges in this vibrant and fast growing region. This year's Report focuses on the critical question of advancing gender equality, as seen through the prism of women's unequal power, voice, and rights. Despite the region's many economic gains, the Report chronicles how in many instances women across the region continue to be held back and disadvantaged. Even as many women have benefited from their countries' improved education, health, and prosperity, they continue to face barriers to the same opportunities available to men.

Table: Mechanisms for Supporting Gender Equality in Political Systems

This table gives mechanisms on how to promote gender equity. It was presented at the workshop on Strenghening women's participation and Leadership in Political Parties, Pretoria, 1-5. NDI South Africa