The three editors of this volume have produced a high-quality book that offers a global analysis of gender equality through its studies of the effect of gender quotas on the representation of women. To do so, they brought together a group of scholars from around the world, representing a variety of scholarly disciplines. The volume addresses questions about women and the electoral process, focusing on the number and attributes of women officeholders (conceptualized as descriptive representation), the degree to which women represent women constituents (conceptualized as substantive representation), and the effect of women in office on public opinion (conceptualized as symbolic representation).
The editors present a thoughtful and comprehensive review of the literature, assessing the quality, type, and major findings of research on women and the three types of representation. They begin with a brief but informative overview of the literature on the effect of electoral quotas on the types of representation and conclude with a helpful recapitulation of the findings, diverse methodological approaches, and suggested hypotheses to guide future research.
Each section investigates the impact of electoral quotas on one of the types of representation in four countries in Western Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia and the Middle East. The authors employ a range of methodologies and approaches, including national survey data and author-conducted surveys, interviews, and field experiments. They explore demographic variables, attitudinal variables, and variables measuring legislative behavior, exploring the relationship between quotas and women’s representation generally, and measuring their effect on women, national and subnational political institutions, and the electorate.
The first section on descriptive representation comprises case studies of France, Argentina, Uganda, and Morocco; the second includes analyses of substantive representation in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, and Afghanistan; and the third examines symbolic representation in Belgium, Mexico, Rwanda, and India. Given this organization, the volume offers a comprehensive view of representation and quota systems, indicating that the editors reasonably opted for breadth over depth.
Because of the richness of the data, to do the volume justice this review presents a brief synopsis of the most salient findings of the chapters. The section on descriptive representation focuses on the relationship between the country’s electoral process and the number and quality of the women in public office. Rainbow Murray’s study of France shows that the parity system produced a more gender-balanced legislature and, contrary to popular belief, the credentials of the women were not inferior to the credentials of the men with whom they served. Susan Franceschet and Jennifer Piscopo’s study of the gender quota law in Argentina finds that women legislators are better educated, more professional, and have fewer family obligations than their female constituents; yet despite these differences, the women politicians are more likely to have a heightened awareness of sex discrimination that may make them more likely to support women’s issues. Diana O’Brien’s analysis of Uganda reports that although most of the demographic characteristics of the women legislators elected according to the gender quota policy are similar to those of other Ugandan politicians, the “quota” women have more electoral experience and are better equipped to hold office. Concluding the section on descriptive representation, James Sater’s study of Morocco indicates that gender quotas, a top-down system emanating from the monarch, has not produced an increased number of women in office outside of those placed there through the quota system.
The section on substantive representation involves a more complex set of questions, revolving around definitions of women’s interests within different electoral systems and the differing levels of political and economic development among these countries. To maintain continuity in the subject, the chapters in this section draw upon measures of descriptive representation in their analyses of substantive representation. Sarah Childs and Mona Krook’s assessment of the United Kingdom shows that although differences among female Labour members of Parliament are generally not pronounced and, indeed, have eroded over time, quota women are, among other things, less likely to identify themselves as feminists and to believe that they have a responsibility to represent the interests of women. Luis Miguet’s study of Brazil indicates that the nation has no functional quota system and consequently elects few women to office; moreover, although women affect the policy agenda, they have less clout than men and have had little effect on ending the cultural subordination of women. Denise Walsh finds that although the percentage of women increased between the first and second South African nonracial parliaments, women had less substantive representation in the second one. And, last, Anna Larson writes on the reserve-seat system in Afghanistan, noting that this method of voting did not lead to a higher degree of substantive representation of women.
Because of their topics, the chapters on electoral systems and symbolic representation are the most abstract, addressing attitudinal effects of women’s presence in office on the polity as a whole, as well as on women themselves. Petra Meier’s study of gender quotas in Belgium shows that although the quotas led to high expectations for gender equality, they did not lead to greater egalitarianism, thus demonstrating a lack of genuine symbolic representation of women. Par Zetterberg also demonstrates that the Mexican quota system led to a higher number of women officeholders, but had little effect on increasing the level of symbolic representation of women among the electorate. In contrast, Jennie Burnet’s assessment of the Rwandan quota system shows that it led to increased symbolic representation that was manifested in significant cultural changes in society’s attitudes toward women. And finally, Lori Beaman, Rohini Pande, and Alexandra Cirone report that although voters in India’s local village councils may vote for women to further their own policy interests, their cultural attitudes toward women remain resistant to change.
Together, the studies demonstrate that of the three types of representation, descriptive representation is most easily achieved, followed by substantive representation and, last, symbolic representation; attaining the latter seems to require a shift in attitudes and behavior that may be beyond the reach of a gender quota system. The authors also show that quota systems may have unintended consequences for the political systems that adopt them. Although they generally succeed in increasing the number of women in office, they do not always serve the intended purpose of enhancing representation of women’s issues for at least two reasons. First, the women elected through the quota systems are typically better educated, have a higher occupational status, and are better-off than their constituents and, thus, may not resonate with the same issues as their constituents. Second, electing more women to office does not necessarily disturb the social and cultural manifestations of gender inequality inherent in many countries. By situating their studies within a single country, the authors in this volume are able to assess the degree to which the adoption of a gender quota system is related to support for women politicians and women’s policy issues.
The editors did a fine job of ensuring that the chapters are all of a consistently high quality, making The Impact of Gender Quotas a welcome addition to the literature on women and the electoral system. They are to be commended for their efforts in bringing together these studies and helping the reader assess the impact of gender quotas on the representation of women.
