Political and Legal Determinants of Women's Representation in Parliaments

According to comparative studies, the level of women's participation in parliaments of individual countries is constantly growing. It was undoubtedly influenced by social and cultural conditions as well as institutional factors, such as various variants of gender quotas. Electoral systems and their constituent elements (electoral formulas, constituencies, voting structure) continue to influence women's electoral success. Proportional electoral systems are still more favourable to women than majority systems. Empirical studies have confirmed that women have also a better chance to be elected when competing in large constituencies and closed party list systems. Linking women's electoral quotas to the above elements of electoral systems definitely influences the representativeness of parliaments and the participation of women in them.