Question

Does the legislative quota system increase women's political representation? (Think of countries like the United States, Rwanda, and India) What would your counterargument to the question be as well?

This question is for a global issues term paper. It has to be an argumentative essay.

Answer 1

Females are less than one in five parliamentarians worldwide. Constitutional and voluntary electoral gender quotas are used as the most effective mechanism for increasing the political representation of women in more than half of the world's countries.
Electoral quotas have gained international recognition and have been shown to be successful in' fast tracking' the electoral representation of women in order to produce equal results, not just equal opportunities.
In some countries, their implementation has been contentious, especially in liberal democracies where critics oppose them on the grounds that they discriminate against men and weaken the merit-based selection of candidates or parliamentarians.

Through definition, parliaments are meant to represent their communities. New parliaments are those in which people identify themselves and seek answers to their questions and expectations.' However, women's participation in parliaments is increasing quite slowly and is still far below the broader representation of women in their society in almost every parliament in the world. In spite of developments in the home, family, college and workplace, most parliaments around the world struggle to represent the proportion of women in the electorate and that awareness of the need for women to be included and empowered in the elected office. Electoral gender quotas are widely regarded as a required and effective tool for women's representation in parliament to be' fast-tracked.'

A socially inclusive society is considered a basic concept of democratic governance which allows women to have a voice when making decisions that affect their lives. This concerns an increasingly popular argument that women have the right to equal citizenship and that' political participation is a human right' Those opposed to gender quotas in liberal democracies argue that they undermine the principle of merit. The principle of merit is an important theoretical concept inherent in the laws of equal opportunity and designed to prevent discrimination. This underpins public service employment practices in liberal democracies such as the United States and Australia, which ensures that job decisions should be based solely on comparative qualifications, knowledge and skills following fair and open competition, ensuring equal opportunities for all