Social equity & governance
Gender Quota
A mandatory or voluntary rule reserving a minimum share of candidates or seats for women in elected office, used to correct structural under-representation.
Definition
A gender quota is a rule or target requiring a minimum percentage or number of women among candidates for public election or in legislative seats. Quotas may be constitutional, legislative, or set by political parties, and take three main forms: legislated candidate quotas, reserved seats, and voluntary political party quotas — the typology used by the International IDEA, IPU, and Stockholm University Global Database of Quotas for Women.
References
definition and typology
Overview
What it means
Quotas address the fact that equal rights to stand for office have not produced equal representation: they change the candidate pool or seat allocation directly rather than waiting for slower cultural change. Design matters — sanctions for non-compliance, rank-order rules, and constituency type determine whether quotas deliver numbers on paper or in office.
How it is used
More than half the world's countries apply some form of electoral gender quota; the mechanism is also extended to corporate boards in several jurisdictions. The Global Database of Quotas for Women tracks provisions by country.
Why it matters
Representation shapes what gets legislated — including environmental and social policy — and quotas remain the single most effective documented tool for accelerating women's political inclusion.
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