Debate on quota law for women, parity and political equality between genders

Abstract

One of the topics of historical discussion has been and still is “woman”as a social subject, citizen, politician and intellectual. In this sense, intellectual women played the lead in the struggle for gaining women’s suffrage, for being recognized as citizens who were able to choose their polical representatives by voting. Without a doubt, this was one of the great victories in the Twentieth Century. Nowadays, in the beginning of the Twenty-first Century, gender topics are still themes of intellectual debates, since women have not still achieved the equality of rights in every social aspects. And with regard to politics, although there are women who are activists, only a few reach leading and power positions. Thus in many countries of the world Quota Laws have been created to allow the incorporation of the feminine gender in order to gain gender parity. This paper will analyse whether quota policies really serve to establish the intended parity and, therefore, civic equality between genders.