<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Although representing half of the world population, women remain largely excluded from political power and government structures. Various strategies have been introduced to increase women’s political representation, including electoral gender quotas. This paper explores the impact of electoral gender quotas on women’s quantitative participation in politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, analysing quota impact in combination with other related factors, such as the quota design, implementation and broader political context. A diversity of techniques has been used to collect a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, including academic resources collection and analysis, desk research, statistical data analysis and online questionnaire. The paper argues that electoral gender quotas have generally had a positive impact on getting women elected in BiH, though their efficacy depends on their formulation and other aspects of electoral law. Still, quantitative representation of women is not sufficient to facilitate their agency in politics. Social attitudes also continue to affect the electoral success of women once they secure a spot on the candidate list. Therefore, quotas must be implemented within a broader democratic, accountable and gender-sensitive political context to deliver qualitative representation of women in politics. Finally, the paper offers concrete recommendations to promote women’s political participation in BiH.</p>
</abstract>

Although representing half of the world population, women remain largely excluded from political power and government structures. Various strategies have been introduced to increase women’s political representation, including electoral gender quotas. This paper explores the impact of electoral gender quotas on women’s quantitative participation in politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, analysing quota impact in combination with other related factors, such as the quota design, implementation and broader political context. A diversity of techniques has been used to collect a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, including academic resources collection and analysis, desk research, statistical data analysis and online questionnaire. The paper argues that electoral gender quotas have generally had a positive impact on getting women elected in BiH, though their efficacy depends on their formulation and other aspects of electoral law. Still, quantitative representation of women is not sufficient to facilitate their agency in politics. Social attitudes also continue to affect the electoral success of women once they secure a spot on the candidate list. Therefore, quotas must be implemented within a broader democratic, accountable and gender-sensitive political context to deliver qualitative representation of women in politics. Finally, the paper offers concrete recommendations to promote women’s political participation in BiH.

The Impact of Electoral Gender Quotas on Women’s Political Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Politics in Central Europe

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Although representing half of the world population, women remain largely excluded from political power and government structures. Various strategies have been...

The Impact of Electoral Gender Quotas on Women’s Political Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Published Online: Dec 18, 2023

Page range: 767 - 789

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2023-0034

Keywords
women’s political participation, gender equality, electoral gender quotas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, democracy, political culture

© 2023 Ajla Van Heel Merdanović et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Impact of Electoral Gender Quotas on Women’s Political Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Published Online: Dec 18, 2023

Page range: 767 - 789

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2023-0034

Keywordswomen’s political participation, gender equality, electoral gender quotas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, democracy, political culture

© 2023 Ajla Van Heel Merdanović et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
women’s political participation, gender equality, electoral gender quotas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, democracy, political culture