Gender Quota Compliance and Contagion in the 2009 Bundestag Election

Abstract

This article examines the candidates for the 2009 Bundestag election and asks three questions. First, did German political parties comply with their voluntarily-adopted gender quotas for their electoral lists-both in terms of the numbers of women nominated and their placement on the party list? Second, did parties without gender quotas place female candidates in promising list places? In other words, did quotas exert a "contagion effect" and spur political groups without quotas to promote women's political careers? Third, what propensity did all parties have to nominate female candidates for direct mandate seats? Did the quotas used for the second vote have a spillover effect onto the first vote, improving women's odds of being nominated for constituency seats? I find that while the German parties generally complied with the gender quotas for their electoral lists, these quotas have had only limited contagion effects on other parties and on the plurality half of the ballot. Gender quotas in their current form have reached their limits in increasing women's representation to the Bundestag. To achieve gender parity, a change in candidate selection procedures, especially for direct mandates, would be required.

Mapping the Language of Women's Interests: Sex and Party Affiliation in the Bundestag

“…Although the Left champions equality of outcome, the quota policy is not central to the party's origins. Similarly, although both the CSU and the FDP have not officially implemented quotas for Bundestag elections, a quota for the CSU remains under debate (Davidson-Schmich, 2010). Thus, comments about quotas should be useful for identifying possible dimensions of similarities among female interviewees across parties which cannot be attributable to similarities among the parties themselves.…”

Party Gatekeepers' Support for Viable Female Candidacy in PR-List Systems

“…While increasing number of research has been dedicated to the impact political parties have on women's electoral representation (Caul 1999;Davidson-Schmich 2010;Kittilson 2006;Krook 2009;Krook 2010;Matland and Studlar 1996;Murray et al 2012), the relationship between gender and candidate selection remains a relatively understudied area. Ashe and Stewart (2012) and Nieven (1998), however, provide empirical evidence that the majority of the variance in women's underrepresentation can be explained with demand side factors.…”

Extreme non-viable candidates and quota maneuvering in Brazilian legislative elections

“…The term is especially used when discussing majoritarian elections, where parties may nominate a candidate to contest a race it does not expect to win due to a strong incumbent and/or limited party support (Canon, 1993;Kaplan, Park and Ridout, 2006;Roscoe et al, 2006;Thomas and Bodet, 2013;Wilcox, 1987). The term has also been widely used in the gender and politics literature to better understand (the absence of) party support for women politicians, with mixed results (Davidson-Schmich, 2010;Dolan, 2006;Hennings and Urbatsch, 2014;Ondercin and Welch, 2009;Studlar and Matland, 1996;Thomas and Bodet, 2013;Welch et al, 1985).…”