Gender Quotas, Electoral Laws, and the Election of Women

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Important Exception ◽  
Gender Quota

This study uses district-level data from national legislative elections in 19 Latin American countries to evaluate the effect of gender quota legislation, in concert with other electoral rules, on the election of women legislators. Well-designed quota legislation has a profound positive impact on the election of women, regardless of the type of party list (closed or open). Where quota legislation is in force, the use of closed lists on average results in a greater percentage of women legislators elected to office than does the use of open lists. However, this difference is not as great as would be expected based on the prevailing conventional wisdom and is primarily the consequence of the superiority of the closed-list systems when the number of seats a party wins in a district (party magnitude) is two. With one important exception, party magnitude is generally unrelated to women's electoral success in the region.

Gender Quotas, Electoral Laws, and the Election of Women

1998 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK P. JONES
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
Gender Quota ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
Considerable Support

Gender quotas represent a commonly advocated method by which to address the severe underrepresentation of women in the world's legislatures. This study analyzes the effect of gender quota laws on the election of women legislators. It also examines the extent to which other electoral rules can influence the effect of quotas on the election of women. Argentina's provinces employ a wide variety of electoral law arrangements for the election of their provincial legislatures, thereby providing a unique population with which to explore the effect of quotas. The use of a gender quota law is found to have a significant positive impact on the percentage of women elected to the Argentine provincial legislatures. At the same time, the type of party list used is found to have a potent influence on the efficacy of gender quota laws in increasing the percentage of women elected. The study provides considerable support for the position of gender quota advocates. It also suggests that reformers must pay close attention to the institutional environment in which a quota law is being implemented.

Ineffective and Counterproductive? The Impact of Gender Quotas in Open-List Proportional Representation Systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Jankowski ◽  
Kamil Marcinkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
Representation Systems ◽  
Gender Quota ◽  
The Impact

Research on the impact of gender quotas in open-list proportional representation systems has described quotas as ineffective or even paradoxical. While some authors argue that gender quotas without a placement mandate will be essentially ineffective since most women will be nominated to unpromising positions, others suppose that women will be disadvantaged by gender quotas because the increase in the number of female candidates will decrease the average number of preferential votes cast for women. We reexamine the evidence for these claims by analyzing the case of Poland. We demonstrate that the gender quota introduced there in 2011 increased the number of women placed at promising ballot positions and had very little impact on the number of preferential votes cast for women. Additionally, using simulations, we show that the quota had a positive impact on the number of elected women.

scholarly journals Violence against Women in Politics: A Study of Backlash Effect of Gender Quota in Parliament of Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-367
Author(s):  
Dr. Sher Muhammad ◽  
Dr. Muhammad Waris Awan ◽  
Misbah Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
The Political ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Gender Quota

This paper intends to explore the “backlash“   impact of gender equality policies such as gender quotas in the shape of the resistance, provoked by male parliamentarians against their female colleagues. Such resistance exists in different shapes, such as sexist remarks, intimidation, or harassment. It is important to understand the nature and the motive behind such violence, and the effect of this violence on the performance of women legislators. The study is primarily based on semi-structured interviews with 15 female members of the National Assembly of Pakistan. It is evident from the findings of the paper that patriarchy, socio-economic structures, and the political power configurations are key elements that lead to this type of violence and it is not peculiar to only women elected on reserved seats.

scholarly journals Money matters: The impact of gender quotas on campaign spending for women candidates

2021 ◽  
pp. 019251212110410
Author(s):  
Fiona Buckley ◽  
Mack Mariani
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Political Opportunity Structure ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Gender Quota ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Campaign Financing

Despite concerns that women candidates are hampered by gender gaps in campaign financing, few scholars have examined how gender quotas impact women candidates’ access to campaign funds. We examine the effect of a party-based gender quota on women candidates’ financing and electoral success in Ireland. Under the gender quota, the number of women candidates increased and parties acted strategically to provide women challengers with increased financial support. However, women challengers spent less candidate funds than men challengers and were less likely to have prior officeholding experiences associated with fundraising. Women challengers’ disadvantage is concerning because candidate expenditures are associated with winning votes. Our findings show that the effectiveness of a gender quota is partly determined by how the quota interacts with the campaign finance system and the political opportunity structure.

From Critical Mass to Critical Leaders: Unpacking the Political Conditions behind Gender Quotas in Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie Marie Arendt
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Women Legislators ◽  
Party Control ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Gender Quota

The surge in gender quotas across Africa raises questions about the varied impacts of these measures on women's empowerment in legislatures. This study contends that we must explore the diverse political conditions under which quotas are adopted to understand the potential for empowerment in legislatures. By examining political context, we can pinpoint why political parties acquiesce to gender quotas and how they design laws to either empower women or reinforce party control. Parties influence aspects of gender quota design that have lasting effects on women legislators elected through these laws. Employing a new measure of legislative leadership equity, this article compares political conditions under which quotas are adopted across 18 African countries and the extent to which women reach leadership positions following the implementation of a quota. Levels of political competition and women's mainstream political activity at the time of gender quota adoption indicate how the interests of political parties shape the design and effects of the law. That the outcomes of gender quotas are highly contingent on adoption context suggests the need for academics and policy makers to analyze the politics behind these measures to develop country-specific approaches for empowering women in politics.

Primaries vs. Quotas: Gender and Candidate Nominations in Mexico, 2003

2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (03) ◽  
pp. 69-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Baldez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
National Level ◽  
Primary Elections ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Electoral Reforms ◽  
Gender Quota ◽  
Chamber Of Deputies

Abstract Parties throughout Latin America have recently addressed two distinct kinds of electoral reforms: primary elections and national-level gender quota laws. This study examines how these reforms interact, their mutual compatibility, and their effect on the nomination of men compared to that of women. It develops a series of hypotheses about this relationship by analyzing the 2003 legislative elections in Mexico, a case in which the three main parties relied on both gender quotas and primaries to select their candidates. Although the percentage of women elected to the Mexican Chamber of Deputies rose, the Federal Electoral Institute interpreted the gender quota law in a way that weakened its effect on women and limited the degree of openness in the primaries that were held.

scholarly journals Group identity, ideology or recognition? Lawmakers’ support for gender quotas in Latin America

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-120
Author(s):  
Asbel Bohigues ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Gender Quota

The adoption and improvement of gender quota laws depend on political elites, but which lawmakers believe quotas are necessary? To answer this question, we use data from surveys of the elites in 13 Latin American parliaments. The findings are unexpected, both at national and party levels: the strength of already-existing quotas does not perfectly correlate with support for quotas, and the attitudes of political parties on the matter are not consistent. At the individual level, three pro-quota groups are identified: women, the left, and those who recognise the problem of gender inequality. When comparing the significance of these three groups, it is observed that women lawmakers will always be more supportive than men, regardless of ideology and the degree of recognition of the problem.

The Troublesome “Paradox of Gender Quotas”: A Few Methodological Notes on the Margin of an Article by Michael Jankowski and Kamil Marcinkiewicz

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej A. Górecki
Keyword(s):  
Recent Article ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Female Candidates ◽  
Paradoxical Effects ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Methodological Aspects ◽  
Electoral Performance

Abstract In a recent article published in Politics & Gender, Michael Jankowski and Kamil Marcinkiewicz (2019) study the effects of gender quotas on the electoral performance of female candidates in open-list proportional representation (OLPR) systems. On the empirical side, their study is a critical reanalysis of the Polish case, in particular the regularities demonstrated in a 2014 study that I coauthored. We argued there that at the micro level (candidate level), the effects of quotas were somewhat “paradoxical”: following the installation of quotas, women candidates tend to perform worse relative to their male counterparts than they did during the pre-quota period. Jankowski and Marcinkiewicz claim to demonstrate that those “paradoxical” effects are minor and thus practically negligible. In this note, I argue that their conclusion is largely a result of the particular methodological choices made by these authors. These choices seem unobvious, debatable, and potentially controversial. The note concludes that we need more reflection and debate on the methodological aspects of analyzing candidates’ electoral success in complex electoral systems, such as multidistrict OLPR. This would greatly facilitate future efforts aimed at an unequivocal examination of the contentious concepts such as the notion of “paradox of gender quotas.”

Does a Diversified Crop Portfolio Make Farmers More Efficient? A Stochastic Production Frontier Analysis of Farm-level Data from Assam, India

2021 ◽  
pp. 097300522199758
Author(s):  
Raju Mandal ◽  
Shrabanti Maity
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Stochastic Production Frontier ◽  
Production Frontier ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Stochastic Production

The agriculture sector in India is beset with twin limitations of shrinking cultivable area and absence of major technological breakthroughs in the recent past. In such a situation, a judicious management of the farm in the form of adjustment in a crop portfolio can be quite useful to maximise output and minimise wastage of resources. This article seeks to examine whether a diversified crop portfolio makes the farmers more efficient using farm-level survey data collected from geographically diverse areas of Assam, a state in northeast India. The results of a stochastic production frontier analysis show that adoption of a diversified crop portfolio across crops and seasons makes the farmers more efficient in cultivation by helping them reduce weather-induced damages to crops and reap better returns from farming. This efficiency-enhancing effect of crop diversification is found to be heterogeneous among the regions. However, too much diversification reduces the efficiency of farmers. The results have important implications for Assam where floods cause extensive damage to crops every year. Moreover, access to extension services and government support are found to make the farmers more efficient. On the other hand, fixed-rent form of tenancy reduces efficiency of the farmers while household size has a positive impact on the same.

The nexus between financial development and energy consumption: Estimating the role of foreign direct investment, economic growth and urbanization

2021 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110453
Author(s):  
Jaleel Ahmed ◽  
Shuja ur Rehman ◽  
Zaid Zuhaira ◽  
Shoaib Nisar
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Financial Development ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of financial development on energy consumption for a wide array of countries. The estimators used for financial development are foreign direct investment, economic growth and urbanization. The study employed a panel data regression on 136 countries with time frame of years 1990 to 2019. The model in this study deploys system GMM technique to estimate the model. The results show that financial development has a significant negative impact on energy consumption overall. Foreign direct investment and urbanization has significant impact on energy consumption. Also, economic growth positive impact on energy consumption its mean that economic growth promotes energy consumption. When dividing further the sample into different groups of regions such as Asian, European, African, North/Latin American and Caribbean countries then mixed results related to the nexus between financial development and energy consumption with respect to economic growth, urbanization and foreign direct investment. The policymakers in these different groups of countries must balance the relationship between energy supply and demand to achieving the sustainable economic development.

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