Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T12:07:27.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

States as Gender Equality Activists: The Evolution of Quota Laws in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jennifer M. Piscopo
Jennifer M. Piscopo*
Affiliation:
Occidental College. piscopo@oxy.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This article examines two decades of strengthening, expansion, and diffusion of gender quota laws in Latin America. The analysis departs from studies of quotas' adoption, numerical effectiveness, or policy impacts, instead focusing on states' use of coercive power to integrate women into public and private institutions. Viewing these policies in light of feminist theories of the poststructuralist state reveals how state institutions act to restructure government and promote gender equality. In building this argument, the article presents an up-to-date empirical survey and conceptual understanding of quota evolution in Latin America, including recent developments in countries such as Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uruguay.

Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , Fall 2015 , pp. 27 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2015

References

Alanis, María del Carmen. 2013. Justicia electoral con enfoque de género. In Cuota de género: una sentencia histórica, ed. Alcocer, Jorge. Mexico City: Nuevo Horizonte. 75–97.Google Scholar
Alcocer, Jorge. 2013. Sentencia histórica. In Cuota de género: una sentencia histórica, ed. Alcocer, . Mexico City: Nuevo Horizonte. 61–74.Google Scholar
Alvarez, Sonia E. 1990. Engendering Democracy in Brazil. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Google Scholar
Archenti, Nélida. 2011. La paridad política en América Latina y el Caribe. Percepciones y opiniones de los líderes de la región. Santiago de Chile: CEPAL, División de Asuntos de Género. Google Scholar
Archenti, Nélida, and Inés Tula, María. 2011. Candidate Selection as Political Barriers for Gender Quotas: the Case of Argentina at Subnational Levels. In Crocker 2011.Google Scholar
Baldez, Lisa. 2004. Elected Bodies: the Gender Quota Law for Legislative Candidates in Mexico. Legislative Studies Quarterly 24, 2: 231–58.Google Scholar
Baldez, Lisa. 2007. Primaries vs. Quotas: Gender and Candidate Nominations in Mexico, 2003. Latin American Politics and Society 49, 3 (Fall): 69–96.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D. 2012. Gender and Legislative Preferences: Evidence from the Argentine Provinces. Politics and Gender 8: 483–507.Google Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Jones, Mark P.. 2011. Latin America. In Women and Executive Power, ed. Tremblay, Manon and Bauer, Gretchen. New York: Routledge. 105–21.Google Scholar
Beaman, Lori, Pande, Rohini, and Cirone, Alexandra. 2012. Politics as a Male Domain and Empowerment in India. In Franceschet et al. 2012. 208–26.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2011. International Politics and the Spread of Quotas for Women in Legislatures. International Organization 65, 1: 103–37.Google Scholar
Chief IFE Accountant. 2013. Author interview. Mexico City, December 11.Google Scholar
Ciudad de México. 2014. Decreto por el que se reforma diversas disposiciones de la Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública del Distrito Federal. Gaceta Oficial del Distrito Federal No. 1839, April 15.Google Scholar
Coordinadora de la Mujer (Bolivia). 2010. Balance de 5 leyes promulgadas. La Paz: Observatorio de Género, Coordinadora de la Mujer. Google Scholar
Corte Constitucional de Colombia. 2000. Sentencia C-371/00. Bogotá.Google Scholar
Corte Suprema de Justicia (Costa Rica). Sala Constitucional. 2008. Resolución 2008009582. San José.Google Scholar
Costa Benavides, Jimena. 2003. Women's Political Participation in Bolivia: Progress and Obstacles. Paper presented at the conference “Implementation of Quotas: Latin American Experiences.” International IDEA, Lima, February 23–24.Google Scholar
Crocker, Adriana, ed. 2011. Diffusion of Gender Quotas in Latin America and Beyond. New York: Peter Lang. Google Scholar
Dahlerup, Drude, and Freidenvall, Lenita. 2005. Quotas as a “Fast Track” to Equal Representation for Women. International Feminist Journal of Politics 7, 1: 26–48.Google Scholar
Defensoría de los Habitantes. Costa Rica avanza en materia de derechos humanos al reconocer paridad de género en juntas directivas. Press Release. April 8. San José: Defensoría de los Habitantes.Google Scholar
Demus. 2009. Justicia de género: acciones afirmativas en el sistema de justicia. Lima: Demus: Estudio para la Defensa de los Derechos de la Mujer. www.Demus.org.pe Google Scholar
Dos Santos, Pedro G. 2012. Gendering Representation: Parties, Institutions, and the under-Representation of Women in Brazil's State Legislatures. Ph.D. diss., University of Kansas.Google Scholar
Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). 2010. Brasília Consensus. Presented at the Eleventh Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Brasília, July 13–16.Google Scholar
Excelsior (Mexico City). 2011. Senado decide conserver a juanitas; la spotización persistirá. April 30.Google Scholar
Female former legislator, PRD. 2009. Author interview. Mexico City, December 8.Google Scholar
Female legislator, Argentina. 2009. Author interview. Buenos Aires, April 21.Google Scholar
Female legislator, PAN. 2009. Author interview. Mexico City, December 8.Google Scholar
Feminist activist who helped coordinate lawsuit. 2013. Author interview. Mexico City, December 12.Google Scholar
Rubio, Ferreira, Delia, M. 2012. Financimiento político, género, y equidad en la competencia electoral. Revista Andamios 7–8: 78–86.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan. 2010. Explaining Domestic Violence Policy Outcomes in Chile and Argentina. Latin American Politics and Society 52, 3 (Fall): 1–29.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Thomas, Gwynn. 2013. Changing Representational Norms in the Executive Branch: Parity Cabinets in Chile and Spain. Paper presented at the European Conference on Politics and Gender, Barcelona, March 21–23.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2008. Quotas and Women's Substantive Representation: Lessons from Argentina. Politics and Gender 4, 3: 393–425.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2013. Equality, Democracy, and the Broadening and Deepening of Gender Quotas. Politics and Gender 9, 3: 310–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2014. Sustaining Gendered Practices? Power and Elite Networks in Argentina. Comparative Political Studies 47, 1: 86–111.Google Scholar
Franceschet, Susan, Lena Krook, Mona, and Piscopo, Jennifer M., eds. 2012. The Impact of Gender Quotas. New York: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar
García, García, María de Fátima, Carmen. 2013. Comments at event “Towards Parity in Mexico,” National Archives, Mexico City, September 24.Google Scholar
Bajo, Gastélum, Hadamira, Diva. 2013. Comments at event “Towards Parity in Mexico,” National Archives, Mexico City, September 24.Google Scholar
Hawkesworth, Mary. 2012. Political Worlds of Women: Activism, Advocacy, and Governance in the Twenty-First Century. Boulder: Westview Press. Google Scholar
Heath, Roseanna, Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie, and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle. 2005. Women on the Sidelines: Women's Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures. American Journal of Political Science 49, 2: 420–36.Google Scholar
El Heraldo (Tegucigalpa). 2012. Mujeres quieren la mitad de la cuota electoral y de la deuda política. January 19.Google Scholar
Hinojosa, Magda. 2012. Selecting Women, Electing Women: Political Representation and Candidate Selection in Latin America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Google Scholar
Htun, Mala. 2003. Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin American Dictatorships and Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar
Htun, Mala, and Pablo Ossa, Juan. 2013. Political Inclusion of Marginalized Groups: Indigenous Reservations and Gender Parity in Bolivia. Politics, Groups, and Identities 1, 1: 4–25.Google Scholar
Htun, Mala, and Jones, Mark P.. 2002. Electoral Quotas and Women's Leadership in Latin America. In Gender and the Politics of Rights and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Craske, Nikki and Molyneux, Maxine. New York: Palgrave. 32–56.Google Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). 2015. Women in National Parliaments. Database. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm. Accessed July 19, 2015.Google Scholar
Jaquette, Jane S. 1997. Women in Power: from Tokenism to Critical Mass. Foreign Policy 108: 23–37.Google Scholar
Jaquette, Jane S., ed. 2009. Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America. Durham: Duke University Press. Google Scholar
Jiménez Polanco, Jacqueline. 2011. Women's Quotas in the Dominican Republic: Advances and Detractions. In Crocker 2011. 130–50.Google Scholar
Jones, Mark P. 1996. Increasing Women's Representation via Gender Quotas: the Argentine Ley de Cupos. Women and Politics 16, 4: 75–98.Google Scholar
Jones, Mark P. 1998. Gender Quotas, Electoral Laws, and the Election of Women: Lessons from the Argentine Provinces. Comparative Political Studies 31, 1: 3–21.Google Scholar
Jones, Mark P. 2004. Quota Legislation and the Election of Women: Learning from the Costa Rican Experience. Journal of Politics 66, 4: 1203–23.Google Scholar
Jones, Mark P. 2009. Gender Quota Laws and the Election of Women: Evidence from the Latin American Vanguard. Comparative Political Studies 42, 1: 56–81.Google Scholar
Kantola, Johanna. 2006. Feminists Theorize the State. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Google Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide. New York: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar
Lamas, Marta. 2000. Un cuerpo de mujer no garantiza un pensamiento de mujer. Cimac Noticias, October 31. http://www.cimac.org.mx/noticias/00oct/00103106.html. Accessed January 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Mackay, Fiona, Kenny, Meryl, and Chappell, Louise. 2010. New Institutionalism through a Gender Lens: towards a Feminist Institutionalism? International Political Science Review 31, 5: 563–88.Google Scholar
Madriz Sotillo, Jhannett. 2012. Visibilización de la mujer en la República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Derecho Electoral (Venezuela) 13 (enero–junio): 318–35.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? a Contingent Yes. Journal of Politics 61, 3: 628–57.Google Scholar
Marx, Jutta, Borner, Jutta, and Caminotti, Mariana. 2007. Los cupos de género y política en Argentina y Brasil. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI. Google Scholar
Marx, Jutta, Borner, Jutta, and Caminotti, Mariana. 2009. Gender Quotas, Candidate Selection, and Electoral Campaigns. In Jaquette 2009.Google Scholar
Miguel, Luis Felipe. 2012. Policy Priorities and Women's Double Bind in Brazil. In Franceschet et al. 2012. 103–18.Google Scholar
Noticias Sin (Santo Domingo). 2014. Defienden paridad de la mujer en las candidaturas electorales. April 3.Google Scholar
El Nuevo Diario (Managua). 2012. Oposición nicaragüense propone cuota de 50% de mujeres en cargos de poder. March 27.Google Scholar
Party director, PRI. 2013. Author interview. Mexico City, December 19.Google Scholar
Hastings, Paul. 2011. Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in the Boardroom: Latin America. Report. Washington, DC: Paul Hastings LLP. Google Scholar
Paxton, Pamela, Hughes, Melanie M., and Matthew, A. Painter, Ii. 2010. Growth in Women's Political Representation: a Longitudinal Exploration of Democracy, Electoral System, and Gender Quotas. European Journal of Political Research 49, 1: 25–52.Google Scholar
Presidenta de la República (Chile). 2014. Mensaje no. 076-362 [electoral reform bill]. Santiago, April 22.Google Scholar
Presidente de la Nación (Argentina). 2003. Decreto 222/2003. Buenos Aires, June 19.Google Scholar
Presidente de la República (Nicaragua). 2008. Ley de Igualdad de Derechos y Oportunidades (648-2008). La Gaceta (Managua) 51: March 12.Google Scholar
Presidente de la República (Nicaragua). 2010. Decreto 29-2010. La Gaceta (Managua) 121: June 28.Google Scholar
Pringle, Rosemary, and Watson, Sophie. 1998. “Women's Interests” and the Poststructuralist State. In Feminism and Politics, ed. Phillips, Anne. New York: Oxford University Press. 203–23.Google Scholar
Quota Project. n.d. Global Database of Quotas for Women. www.quotaproject.org. Accessed February 19, 2015.Google Scholar
Randall, Vicky. 1998. Gender and Power: Women Engage the State. In Gender, Politics, and the State, ed. Randall, and Waylen, Georgina. London: Routledge. 185–205.Google Scholar
La República (Lima). 2013. La pareja presidencial enfrenta sin aliados los problemas del tercer año del gobierno. July 28.Google Scholar
Sacchet, Teresa. 2008. Beyond Numbers: the Impact of Gender Quotas in Latin America. International Feminist Journal of Politics 10, 3: 369–86.Google Scholar
Sagot, Montserrat. 2010. Does the Political Participation of Women Matter? Democratic Representation, Affirmative Action, and Quotas in Costa Rica. IDS Bulletin 41, 5: 25–34.Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie. 2009. Making Quotas Work: the Effect of Gender Quota Laws on the Election of Women. Legislative Studies Quarterly 24, 1: 5–28.Google Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie. 2010. Political Power and Women's Representation in Latin America. New York: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar
Thames, Frank C., and Williams, Margaret S.. 2013. Contagious Representation: Women's Political Representation in Democracies Around the World. New York: New York University Press. Google Scholar
Tinker, Irene. 2004. Quotas for Women in Elected Legislatures: Do They Really Empower Women? Women's Studies International Forum 27: 531–46.Google Scholar
Towns, Ann. 2012. Norms and Social Hierarchies: Understanding International Policy Diffusion “from below.” International Organization 66, 2: 179–209.Google Scholar
Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (Mexico). 2011. Juicios para la protección de los derechos político-electorales del ciudadano. Sentencia SUP-JDC-12624/2011. Mexico City.Google Scholar
Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (Mexico). 2013. Representación proporcional en el Congreso de la Unión. Alternancia de géneros para conformar las listas de candidatos. Jurisprudencia 29/2013. Mexico City.Google Scholar
Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación (Mexico). 2014. Órganos jurisdiccionales electorales locales. Tésis IV/2014. Mexico City.Google Scholar
Waylen, Georgina. 1998. Gender, Feminism, and the State: an Overview. In Randall and Waylen 1998. 1–17.Google Scholar
Waylen, Georgina. 2000. Gender and Democratic Politics: a Comparative Analysis of Consolidation in Argentina and Chile. Journal of Latin American Studies 32, 3: 765–93.Google Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2002. Beyond Bodies: Institutional Sources of Representation for Women in Democratic Policymaking. Journal of Politics 64, 4: 1153–74.Google Scholar
Zetterberg, Pär. 2008. The Downside of Gender Quotas? Institutional Constraints on Women in Mexican State Legislatures. Parliamentary Affairs 61, 3: 442–60.Google Scholar
Zetterberg, Pär. 2011. The Diffusion of Sub-National Gender Quotas and Their Impacts. In Crocker 2011. 53–69.Google Scholar