Is women’s empowerment directly related to the proportion of women in parliament? Have various forms of quota been successful in transforming gender relations? This article examines different pathways to women’s empowerment and the assumptions about gender, power, and politics that underlie quotas. It concludes that the focus on women’s representation in parliament is too narrow; gender hierarchies that have remained unchallenged in other key power bases (such as key ministries) must be identified and targeted. Further, women’s representation must be viewed in terms of the agendas pursued and their influence.
A key indicator of the third Millennium Development Goal, (which seeks to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment), is the proportion of seats held in parliaments by women. Quotas have become increasingly popular due to their proven impact on quickly increasing the number of women in parliament. A number of international frameworks, including the MDGs, have been very influential in driving their adoption.
This focus on women’s empowerment through increased political representation has shaped national government, activist and donor policies and actions in all the countries studied. However, closer examination reveals that:
- In many cases the adoption of quotas is not an expression of feminist agency but a coalition of different actors who have vested interests in forwarding other agendas, such as regime legitimacy.
- The kind of quota system adopted in a country and whether it actually transforms a society’s wider gender relations depends on complex and context-specific political factors.
- Women political representatives are most effective where a strong and engaged local feminist movement supports them, and where they have a strong sense of representing a constituency.
- There is an assumption that women in parliament promote progressive political agendas, but this is not necessarily the case where conservative women connected to political and economic elites come to power.
Simply having more women in power has not in many cases resulted in deeper and wider transformation of gender relations. To achieve this, the policy agenda must be broadened on two fronts. Firstly, parliament is not the only site where political power is exercised. Keeping a focus solely on political decision-making in parliament results in a piecemeal approach, with limited opportunities for achieving real transformation in how power is exercised. Other key power bases where gender hierarchies have remained unchallenged (such as key ministries) must be identified and targeted. Secondly, women’s representation must be viewed in terms of the gender and social justice agendas espoused and their influence, not just in terms of the numbers of women in parliament. Other policy pointers are that:
- There is no perfect type of quota, although proportional representation systems create the most enabling conditions for women. Quotas need to be designed according to local context and broad political factors.
- Thorough and rigorous sanctions for non-compliance are essential.
- Donors need to shift from short-term training programmes to longer-term learning initiatives that are diverse in content and approach, more participatory, and sustained before, during and after elections.
- Capacity support is needed in the informal as well as the formal political realm.
