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Gender Equality from Beneath: Electoral Gender Quotas in Poland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2013

Anna Śledzińska-Simon  and
Adam Bodnar
Anna Śledzińska-Simon
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor Chair of Constitutional Law Department of Law Administration and Economics University of Wrocław
Adam Bodnar
Affiliation:
Vice-President of the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights in Warsaw and Assistant Professor Institute of Human Rights Warsaw University of Law and Administration
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Abstract

This article explores the introduction of electoral gender quotas and the unprecedented social mobilization in pursuit of gender equality in Poland. The quota law was adopted as a citizens’ initiative organized by the Congress of Women, a new women’s movement. The article analyzes the factors that account for the success of this initiative, which permanently changed the public debate on gender rights in Poland. In contrast to other countries with legislative gender quotas, the Polish law was the result of bottom-up processes, and it has a strong democratic legitimacy. The law has not significantly influenced the representation of women in the Parliament, yet it significantly mainstreamed the gender perspective in the public debate. Nonetheless, the way in which the quota law has been applied by political parties shows that Polish women in politics are a “minority” devoid of power, and that the prospects for a parity democracy are still remote.

Résumé

Le présent article examine l’adoption de quotas électoraux visant l’égalité des sexes et la mobilisation sociale sans précédent afin d’obtenir l’égalité entre les sexes en Pologne. La loi des quotas a été adoptée à la suite d’une initiative de citoyens organisée par le Congrès des femmes, un nouveau mouvement des femmes. Le présent article analyse les facteurs qui entrent en jeu dans le succès de cette initiative, qui a changé de façon permanente le débat public sur les droits des hommes et des femmes en Pologne. Contrairement à d’autres pays ayant des quotas législatifs liés à l’égalité des sexes, la loi polonaise a été le résultat de processus ascendants et elle possède une forte légitimité démocratique. Cette loi n’a pas eu de véritable influence sur la représentation des femmes au Parlement, mais elle a cependant intégré de façon significative une perspective égalitaire dans le débat public. Néanmoins, la manière selon laquelle la loi des quotas a été appliquée par les partis politiques montre que les Polonaises en politique ne sont qu’une « minorité » dépourvue de pouvoir et que les perspectives d’une démocratie paritaire sont encore bien loin.

Keywords

gender equalitygender electoral quotassocial movementsPolandégalité entre les sexesquotas électoraux visant l’égalité des sexesmouvements sociauxPologne
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 28 , Special Issue 2: Gender Equality, Legal Mobilization, and Feminism in a Multilevel European System , August 2013 , pp. 151 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association / Association Canadienne Droit et Société 2013 

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References

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