Quotas for Women
In recent decades, a significant number of political parties have taken steps to increase the representation of women in national assemblies, often by introducing gender quotas. The arguments for this fall into four categories: those that dwell on the role model that successful women politicians offer; those that appeal to principles of justice between the sexes; those that identify particular interests of women that would otherwise be overlooked; and those that see women as introducing new forms of political behaviour. The case for quotas depends on the idea that interests are gendered, but should not presume a unitary set of women's interests. The use of quotas raises new questions about the accountability of representatives to their constituents.
Keywords: accountability, essentialism, feminism, gender quotas, justice, political behaviour, political parties, role models, women's interests, women's representation
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