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Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas: Resisting Institutions

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Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics ((GAP))

Abstract

This volume addresses how parties across Europe put gender quotas in political representation into practice. The present chapter frames the main debates, advances, and challenges. It is situated within both the implementation turn of research on gender equality policies and the broader implementation focus in political research. By way of introduction, the chapter addresses how gender quotas impact the number of women in political representation. It briefly discusses the main focus and findings of the literature on gender quotas to then articulate how the volume will expand upon these themes. The second section provides an overview of how our contributors address the implementation of gender quotas within the different countries covered. Based on the Gender Equality Policy in Practice (GEPP) approach, the chapters in the volume assess how quotas are put into practice, with which instruments, who drives implementation, and how they are negotiated, supported, contested, or resisted. We pay particular attention to how cultural, institutional, and political factors impact implementation. While the individual country chapters unravel the findings in detail, the third section homes in on how such factors intersect to facilitate or block adequate deployment of instruments. We also ask what helps or hinders the creation of inclusive policy environments that empower those in charge of and/or those who mobilize for quota implementation. The conclusion summarizes the main comparative findings on what makes quotas stick and what renders this secret garden of politics more transparent and accessible.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sabine Lang

  2. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Petra Meier

  3. University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Birgit Sauer

Authors
  1. Sabine Lang
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  2. Petra Meier
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  3. Birgit Sauer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sabine Lang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sabine Lang

  2. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Petra Meier

  3. University of Vienna, Vienna, Wien, Austria

    Birgit Sauer

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Lang, S., Meier, P., Sauer, B. (2023). Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas: Resisting Institutions. In: Lang, S., Meier, P., Sauer, B. (eds) Party Politics and the Implementation of Gender Quotas. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08931-2_1

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