Leveling the Playing Field: Which Type of Political Gender Quota Most Effectively Increases Women's Legislative Representation?

Authors

• Meghan K. Stone, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Geoff Lorenz

Second Advisor

Catherine Johnson

Date of this Version

Spring 3-15-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Stone, Meghan K. 2026. "Leveling the Playing Field: Which Type of Political Gender Quota Most Effectively Increases Women's Legislative Representation?"

Comments

Copyright Meghan K. Stone 2026.

Abstract

Significant advances have been made in recent years in terms of increasing the representation of women in national legislatures around the world. Many scholars believe political gender quota laws are responsible for this increase. However, it is important to note that there are several different types of political gender quota laws, each with differing mechanisms for increasing the presence of women within the legislature. This paper researched the effectiveness of three different systems of political gender quotas (voluntary political party quotas, legislated candidate quotas, and the hybrid system of quotas) in increasing the percentage of women represented within national legislatures across the world. Due to the threshold requirements and enforcement mechanisms contained within the hybrid system of political gender quotas, it was hypothesized that the hybrid system of gender quotas would be the most effective, followed by the legislated gender quota system, followed by the voluntary political gender quota system. In order to test this hypothesis, an excel regression analysis was run utilizing data from 155 different countries from 2004-2024. The results of that analysis were consistent with the hypothesis, finding the hybrid system of political gender quotas to be the most effective. In addition to the results of the regression analysis, a case study was conducted into the hybrid quota system of France. This case study demonstrated the importance of legal enforcement mechanisms on the effectiveness of the hybrid political gender quota system.