Los porcentajes para las mujeres en los cargos políticos: Las leyes de cuotas The Quotas for Women in Political Offices: The Quota Laws

Authors

Breanna Cary
Hector Garza

Abstract

There is a growing number of women in politics today, but many countries still struggle to obtain a number of women in politics that accurately represents the female population. Political parties and government organizations are searching for ways to get more women involved in the politics of their country. One way that they are doing this is by setting a quota for the number of women required to be representatives in their political party, or even a number of women to be in their government. The research of this essay looks at the quotas in various parts of the world that are set in place in order to increase the number of women in politics in certain countries and political parties. The sources draw upon research of political scientists from around the world and a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the spread of human rights and gender equality. The introduction briefly discusses the positive points of these quotas, but the essay focuses mostly on the quotas’ downfalls and how they can be fixed. The negatives discussed are that quotas can cause a more qualified person not to be voted into office, contradict the idea of equal opportunity, and the quota laws have to be very specific in order for the quotas to be effective. The essay concludes with a statement about how the quotas can be successful and beneficial for increasing the number of women in politics, if the problems are fixed.

Recommended Citation

Cary, Breanna and Garza, Hector (2014) "Los porcentajes para las mujeres en los cargos políticos: Las leyes de cuotas The Quotas for Women in Political Offices: The Quota Laws," SWOSU Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 1, Article 5.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/jur/vol1/iss1/5