Liberal political culture
Regarding women’s
possibilities for gaining political power, traditional cultural values are said
to work against the participation of women in any political process. Quota
systems are therefore said to be more often applied in modern and liberal political
systems. Political parties there may have internalised the progressive values
and thus try to foster gender equality in all spheres of the society.
Furthermore, voluntary
party quotas often result from a general women’s movement in the society and hence
in the political parties themselves. As the Scandinavian example indicates,
voluntary party quotas have often been introduced only after women already have
gained powerful positions inside the party structure. These finding suggests
that the presence of mobilised women groups in the party are of great
importance for the emergence of voluntary party quotas.
Interventionist
party policy and tolerant party culture
Positive discrimination of
unprivileged groups by quota systems is said to be more consistent with certain
political parties than with others, for instance with Labour or welfare state
parties. Their party culture or main policy of intervention and redistribution
to struggle against social or economic inequalities is very similar to the
intervention by a quota system and its allocation rules.
Not surprisingly, the
voluntary gender quotas have been first introduced by social democratic and
left parties in the Scandinavian countries in the 1970s.[1]
Relations to party
organisation
Clear operational practices and procedures for candidate
selection in a political party are claimed to be of great advantage to women,
especially when there are specific rules or quotas that aim to guarantee
women’s representation. In general, the absence of an institutionalised
candidate nomination system often fosters hierarchical and hence patriarchal
selection process.
Intended implementation can only be ensured by the
establishment of an adequate policy plan that governs the process of
implementation. Such a policy requires that the quota should be considered from
the very beginning of the candidate nomination and selection processes. Quota
systems are usually more successfully implemented when they evolve through
mobilization movements, than if their introduction just mirrors the wide
integration of the disadvantaged social group in the society.
