Gender Quotas and Models of Political Citizenship

Abstract

Gender quotas have spread rapidly around the world in recent years. However, few studies have yet theorized, systematically or comparatively, variations in their features, adoption and implementation. This article surveys quota campaigns in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. It proposes that one or more sets of controversies influence the course and outcomes of quota reforms. These revolve around (1) competing principles of equality, (2) different ideas about political representation, and (3) various beliefs about ‘gender’ and its relation to other kinds of political identities. The article draws on these distinctions to identify four broad models of political citizenship that determine the kinds of quota policies that are pursued and their prospects for bringing more women into political office.

Who supports gender quotas in Ireland?

“…Third, a body of work on newly democratized countries explores the role of outside pressure from international organizations to introduce quotas (Htun and Jones 2002). Finally, adoption is explained as a function of a party's or country's general ideological commitment to equality, whereby parties of the left and egalitarian societies, such as those in northern Europe, typically advocate for their introduction (Caul 2001;Krook et al 2009). Further work on the impact of party ideology on quota introduction has also found that religious ideology matters, with traditionalist Catholic parties opposing quotas in Poland, while anti--clerical parties favour them (Dubrow 2010).…”

For Women Only? Gender Quotas and Intersectionality in France

“…It was quite unlikely that France would adopt a mechanism of gender quotas to improve women's political representation. As gender quotas scholars have stressed, the dominant model of citizenship in a given country makes it more or less likely that gender quotas will be adopted (Krook, Lovenduski, and Squires 2009). A consociationalist model, such as the Belgian one, which already recognizes some social identities (based on language in this case), makes it more likely that gender quotas will be considered a legitimate claim and finally be adopted by the political elite (Meier 2012).…”

Electoral Gender Quotas

“…However, others maintain-in some instances, quite strongly-that quotas and parity are qualitatively distinct due to their distinct philosophical justifications (Mateo Diaz, 2005). A third tactic is to use the language of "targets" and "recommendations"-what Krook et al (2009) label "soft quotas"-when more binding forms of positive action are rejected at either the party or national level. Examples include the call for "equality guarantees" in the United Kingdom (Lovenduski, 2005a), the principle of "every other one for the ladies" in Sweden (Freidenvall, 2005), and the "zebra" principle in southern Africa (Norris, 2004).…”