Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T08:21:44.903Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

In Support of Gender Quotas: Setting New Standards, Bringing Visible Gains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

Miki Caul Kittilson
Miki Caul Kittilson
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Are gender quotas a good idea? Yes, for two reasons: Quotas are an effective mechanism for improving women's numerical representation, and they encourage new attitudes towards women in politics. I argue that the numerical and ideational gains brought by gender quotas outweigh the potential pitfalls they might introduce. From a pragmatic standpoint, quotas constitute an imperfect means to a positive end: women's political empowerment. What is more, formal rules may become norms, reinforcing changing attitudes.I would like to thank Marilyn Dantico, Kim Fridkin, Adrian Pantoja, Becki Scola, and the editors of Politics & Gender for their constructive comments on this essay.

Type
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER AND POLITICS
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 638 - 645
Copyright
© 2005 The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baldez, Lisa. 2004. “Elected Bodies: The Gender Quota Law for Legislative Candidates in Mexico.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 29 (2): 231–58.Google Scholar
Bird, Karen. 2002. “Does Parity Work? Results From French Elections.” Feminist Studies 28 (3): 691–98.Google Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., and Leonard P. Ray. 2002. “Descriptive Representation, Policy Outcomes and Municipal Day-Care Coverage in Norway.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (2): 428–37.Google Scholar
Carroll, Susan J. 2002. “Representing Women: Congresswomen's Perceptions of Their Representational Roles.” In Women Transforming Congress, ed. Cindy Simon Rosenthal. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 50–68.
Dodson, Debra L., et al., eds. 1995. Voices, Views, and Votes: The Impact of Women in the 103rd Congress. New Brunswick, NJ: Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Inglehart, Ronald, and Pippa Norris. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kittilson, Miki Caul. Forthcoming. Challenging Parties, Changing Parliaments: Women and Elected Office in Contemporary Western Europe. Parliaments and Legislatures Series. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Matland, Richard E., and Donley T. Studlar. 1996. “The Contagion of Women Candidates in Single-Member District and Proportional Representation Systems: Canada and Norway.” Journal of Politics 58 (3): 707–33.Google Scholar
Russell, Meg, and Colm O'Cinneide. 2003. “Positive Action to Promote Women in Politics: Some European Comparisons.” ICLQ 52: 587–614.Google Scholar
Sundberg, Jan. 1995. “Women in Scandinavian Party Organizations.” In Women in Nordic Politics: Closing the Gap, ed. Lauri Karvonen and Per Selle. Aldershot, Eng.: Dartmouth.
Swers, Michele. 2002. The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Thomas, Sue. 1994. How Women Legislate. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wangnerud, Lena. 2000. “Representing Women.” In Beyond Westminster and Congress: The Nordic Experience, ed. Peter Essaiasson and Knut Heidar. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 132–54.