The Efficacy of Gender Quotas in Politics: The United States and Europe
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Authors
Larson, Emily
Date of Issue
2019-04-25
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Abstract
In the United States, along with most other nations, women are underrepresented in positions of political office. There are many reasons that help to explain why women are not running, and are not getting elected, such as socialization, stereotyping, and voter biases against gender. However, there must be more research not only on the reasons why we see these patterns, but also how the United States can solve the problem of the underrepresentation of women in national politics. As a representative democracy, the governing bodies of the United States should reflect its citizens, and so far, this has not been the case. This research will look at the ways in which European counties are implementing policy or change at an institutional level to bridge the gap between the amount of men and women in elected office. An example of these types of policies is gender quotas, and this will be used as a point of analysis in this research. Europe has been successful at achieving gender parity through various methods, including quota systems. This research will seek an answer to the important questions of representative equality, and the ways that public policy may be used to achieve it.