Electoral Gender Quota Systems and Their Implementation in Europe
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DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRES GENDER EQUALITY Electoral Gender Quota Systems and their implementation in Europe STUDY Abstract The report maps the diffusion of electoral gender quotas in the 30 EU/EEA countries. In 21 of the countries some type of gender quotas are in use, either legislated or voluntary party quotas. The report evaluates the effectiveness of different quota types in different electoral systems. Some gender quotas have resulted in major leaps in women‟s representation, while others had led to almost no change. The conclusion is that in order to be effective in changing women‟s historical under- representation electoral gender quotas have to fit the electoral system and should include regulations about the rank order of women and men on the electoral lists as well as sanctions for non-compliance. In general, the report reveals a mixed picture in Europe when it comes to women‟s representation. This up-dated version of the 2008-study (PE 408.309) shows that women‟s parliamentary representation increased only from 23.6 % in 2008 to 24.7% in 2011. In the most recent parliamentary election in 13 of the countries as well as in the election to the European Parliament women‟s representation increased, but ten countries experienced stagnation and in seven for the countries women‟s share of the MPs dropped. Eight case studies on Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom are included in the report. PE 408.309 EN This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Gender Equality. AUTHORS Drude Dahlerup, professor and Lenita Freidenvall, associate professor with the assistance of Emil Johansson, Eleonora Stolt, Katarina Bivald and Lene Persson-Weiss, WIP, Women in Politics Research Centre, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, <www.statsvet.su.se/wip>. Eight case study authors. RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Claire GENTa Policy Department C: Citizens' Rigths and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Bruxelles E-mail: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in June 2011. Brussels, © European Parliament, 2011. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. Electoral Gender Qouta Systems and their Implementation in Europe CONTENTS Executive Summary 9 Section A 1. Mapping of electoral gender quotas: frequency and types 12 1.1. International recommendations 13 1.2. Constitutional reform and rejection 15 1.3. Mapping the use of gender quotas 16 1.4. Types of gender quotas 21 1.5. Electoral systems and quota design 23 1.6 Political parties as gatekeepers 25 2. Quotas – a hotly debated issue 26 2.1. Arguments for and against quotas 26 2.2. Fast track vs incremental track 28 2.3. Quota discourses in the eight case studies 30 2.4. Political party views on quotas 33 2.5. The Representation of Minority Women 36 3. The implementation of gender quotas 38 3.1. Party discussions about quotas for women and for minorities 40 3.2. The effects of the electoral system 40 3.3. Which are best: voluntary or legislated quotas? 41 3.4. Leap change versu gradual change 43 3.5. The importance of rank-order rules 45 3.6. Sanctions for non-compliance 47 3.7. Quotas in elections to the European Parliament 50 3.8. Recommendations 53 4. List of references 56 Section B Belgium: The impact of gender quotas and placement mandates 59 1. The electoral system 59 2. Legislated gender quota provisions 59 3 Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 3. The number of women in electoral politics 60 4. Women on top positions and the impact of legislated gender quota provisions 65 5. Party magnitude and the impact of legislated gender quota provisions 66 6. The Dynamics between party quotas and quotas by law 68 7. Other quotas 69 8. Concluding remarks 70 9. List of reference 70 France : La « parité » par la loi 72 1. Introduction 72 2. Aux origines de la réforme paritaire 72 3. Les textes législatifs 74 4. Évaluation de la loi 76 5. « Dynamique vertueuse »: la force symbolique de la loi 80 6. Conclusion 83 9. Bibliographie 84 Germany: Successful quota rules in a gendered society 85 1. Historical background and context 85 2. The origins of quota provisions and debates 86 3. The adoption of quota provisions 87 4. Implementation 89 5. Intersectionality 96 6. The outcome of gender quota implementation and discussion on quotas in other arenas 98 7. Conclusion 99 8. List of reference 99 Poland: It’s time for women: gender quotas on electoral lists 101 1. Historical background and context 101 2. Women in Parliament and local councils: attempts to introduce quota systems 102 4 Electoral Gender Qouta Systems and their Implementation in Europe 3. Evaluation 106 4. Conclusions 111 5. List of reference 112 Slovenia: From voluntary to legislated quotas 113 1. Historical background and context 113 2. The legal situation 114 3. The introduction of quota provisions 115 4. Implementation and evaluation 119 5. Conclusion 126 6. List of References 127 Spain: Success and obstacles on the path to parity democracy 128 1. Introduction 128 2. The origins of gender quota provisions and debates 128 3. Electoral system 131 4. The adoption of quota provisions 132 5. The implementation of the quota provisions and women’s political representation 133 6. Quotas in other areas 136 7. Conclusions 136 8. References 137 Sweden: Step by step towards gender balanced political representation 139 1. Historical background and context 139 2. The origins of quota provisions and debates 140 3. The adoption of party quota provisions 141 4. The implementation of party quota provisions 143 5. Quotas for minority groups 149 6. Quotas in other arenas 151 7. Conclusion 151 8. References 152 5 Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs The United Kingdom: Political parties and quota reform 153 1. Overview and summary 153 2. Historical background and gender quota debates 153 3. The adoption and forms of gender quotas 155 4. The implementation and effectiveness of gender quotas 158 5. Conclusions 162 6. References 163 Appendices Appendix I The methodology of this study 165 Appendix II About the authors 166 Appendix III Acronyms and abbreviations 169 6 Electoral Gender Qouta Systems and their Implementation in Europe TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1. Mapping of gender quotas at different electoral levels: the eight case studies 20 Figure 2. Quotas in different stages of the nomination process 21 Figure 3. The incremental track model and the fast track model 29 Figure 4. Nine quota arguments in the form of predictions 32 Figure 5 Women‟s representation in national parliaments 2011, by type of quota 39 Figure 6. Development of the percentage of women in state parliaments of Baden- 95 Württemberg 1972-2009 Table 1. Women‟s representation in national parliaments in the EU/EEA countries 16 Table 2. Latest parliament renewals – increase, stagnation or decrease? 19 Table 3. Political parties‟ views on the importance of gender in candidate selection 34 Table 4. Political parties‟ general positions on gender quotas 35 Table 5. Attitudes on Quotas for Minorities among Left, Centre and Right Parties 36 Table 6. Women‟s national representation in the eight case studies through five elections – before and after the introduction of quotas 43 Table 7. The construction and effect of legislated gender quotas in five European countries 46 Table 8. The construction and result of voluntary gender quotas in six social democratic parties in Europe 48 Table 9. The construction and effect of legislated gender quotas for election to European parliament 2009 51 Table 10. The construction and effect of voluntary party quotas for election to European Parliament 2009 52 Table 11. The percentage of women in the two most recent Belgian elections (for all levels) 64 Tableau 12. Proportion de femmes élues dans les assemblées politiques en France, suivant le mode de scrutin et les modalités de la loi de parité 77 Tableau 13. Proportion de femmes candidates et élues à l‟Assemblée nationale, pour les partis parlementaires, 1997-2007 78 Tableau 14. Proportion de candidats masculins aux législatives de juin 2007 par force du parti dans la circonscription au 1er tour de la présidentielle d‟avril 2007 80 Table 15. Women in the German national Parliament (Bundestag) 1949–2011 Figures are for the beginning of the parliamentary term 90 Table 16. The percentage of women in the parliamentary party groups of the Bundestag (Bundestagsfraktion), by political party 1949-2009 91 Table 17. The percentage of women elected by direct election and on party lists, elections to the Bundestag 92 Table 18: Percentage of women in parliaments and governments* of the German states (Bundesländer), 1992-2011 94 Table 19. The percentage of women in the German parties‟ governing boards (Parteigremien) 2003/2004 and 2011 96 Table 20. Female members of the Polish Parliament 102 Table 21. The percentage of women on lists of candidates and among members of Parliament in Poland since 1997 106 Table 22. The percentage of women among the parliamentary candidates in 2007 in Poland in the parties which subsequently won parliamentary seats 107 Table 23. Parties in Slovenia with voluntary quotas and other provisions 116 Table 24.