Gender quotas and democracy: Insights from Africa and beyond

SynopsisElectoral gender quotas have been viewed as a way to promote greater inclusion and enhance the quality of democracy. They have also been criticized as ‘artificial’ solutions to women's under-representation in politics and as a means to bolster the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes. Mapping these debates, this epilog discusses three major contributions of the articles in this special issue, both on their own and in dialog with one another. The first two contributions are empirical, illustrating how democratic and non-democratic institutions, respectively, can promote women's representation through gender quotas. The third is the theoretical concept of ‘sustainable representation,’ or the role that quotas may or may not play in instituting durable changes in patterns of access to political office. Together, these case studies present new ways forward for fleshing out what quotas ultimately mean for women's empowerment and democratic development in both Africa and beyond.