Traduzindo os compromissos em acção: realidades das mulheres no acesso aos processos e posições de tomada de decisão

In 2008, International IDEA and Stockholm University authored a study commissioned by the European Parliament on Electoral gender quota systems and their implementation in Europe.

Although controversial, electoral gender quotas are in use in almost half of the countries in the world today. Until recently, Europe has not been in the forefront of this new development. However, this report shows that five European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) countries have introduced gender quotas by law – most recently Spain, Portugal and Slovenia – and that in more than half of the EU/EEA countries some of the political parties have adopted voluntary party quotas for their electoral lists.

This report maps the diffusion of gender quotas in Europe and lists the many different types of quotas in use. The arguments for and against quotas are studied, and the implementation and effect of gender quotas are scrutinised. In-depth case studies have been conducted of eight countries, four with legislated gender quotas – Belgium, France, Slovenia and Spain – and four with voluntary gender quotas – Germany, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A questionnaire, which has been sent to all political parties in the EU/EEA countries, illuminates some attitudinal differences concerning gender quotas among the responding parties (the PARQUOTA Survey).

The report shows that gender quotas have led to remarkably rapid increases in women’s representation in some cases but also to disappointment in other cases. The main conclusion is that, in order to be effective, a quota system must be compatible with the electoral system in place and that quota rules – for example, of 30 or 40 per cent women on electoral lists – must be supplemented with rules concerning rank order as well as – in the case of legislated quotas – effective legal sanctions.

Quotas are only one among many measures for increasing women’s political representation. In general, the political parties are the gatekeepers to gender balance in political decision making because they control ‘the secret garden of nominations’. The study ends with six recommendations for future action.

1. With or without gender quotas, political parties should adopt action plans for recruiting an equal number of women and men as candidates for ‘winnable’ seats and, in general, for making party politics more inclusive.
2. Tools for gender monitoring of nominations and elections should be developed.
3. Multiple measures, such as capacity-building programmes, should be developed and applied.
4. If gender quotas are applied, they must be compatible with the electoral system if they are to be effective.
5. Explicit rules about the implementation of gender quotas, such as rank-ordering rules, legal sanctions for non-compliance (legislated quotas) and a ‘contract’ with the local party organisations (voluntary party quotas) are needed.
6. In the case of legislated quotas, institutional bodies should supervise the implementation. Money should be provided for further research on the implementation and effects of gender quotas.

Lê o estudo aqui.

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