Can even still be uneven? The effect of quotas in Portuguese local governments

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Miguel Ângelo Vilela
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/83780
• topic: Electoral competitiveness; Electoral competitiveness; Institutions; Local government elections; gender policies; Ciências Sociais::Ciências Políticas; Social Sciences

Portuguese society has undergone considerable progress towards addressing gender issues. From the education system to the job market, many changes promoting gender equity have taken place. In the political sphere, the implementation of regulations on gender quotas marked a significant milestone. Since 2006, party lists have been required to meet a gender diversity quota of at least 33%. However, the implementation of such policies necessitate a more detailed analysis. This paper focusses on the impact of quota regulations on the composition of municipal councils. Based on an analysis of the data from the municipal elections from 1978 to 2017, our research supports two major findings. First, the introduction of quota regulations considerably increased the number of women in office, but also created a glass ceiling around the legal threshold. Second, an institutional history of gender diversity and a competitive political environment are both factors that boost the number of women elected.