Electoral quotas and group representation

Abstract

Academic and policy debates around the world increasingly recognize the importance of descriptive representation, observing that a variety of groups are under-represented in the electoral process in relation to their share of the general population. In a growing number of countries, these discussions have resulted in the introduction of quotas to encourage or guarantee the participation of selected groups. The vast majority of these measures address women’s representation, with political parties and national parliaments in more than 130 states mandating the greater inclusion of women as political candidates and/or elected officials. Policies for other groups – based on language, religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, caste, age, expatriation, profession and disability – exist in approximately 40 countries (Krook and O’Brien 2010). This chapter provides an introduction to group-based quotas and their impact on dynamics of political representation. The first section maps these measures globally, outlining key variations in their design and the contexts in which they have been adopted. The second section identifies three normative dilemmas raised by quotas related to questions of equality, democracy and group recognition. The next four sections review the state of existing research on quotas and the four dimensions of representation theorized by Pitkin (1967): formalistic, descriptive, substantive and symbolic. Based on this review, the final section charts new frontiers in quota research. As most of the current literature focuses on gender quotas, the discussion highlights the need for more studies on the adoption and impact of quotas for other groups. It also points to the importance of further research on the intersectional effects of quotas, in order to better understand how quotas may mitigate or exacerbate other group-based inequalities.