“The terms "temporary special measures" and "quotas"
have sometimes been used interchangeably. Quota mechanisms are actually only
one type of TSM related to a country's electoral system or candidate selection
processes that are intended to guarantee or promote the representation of women
or other underrepresented groups in an elected body.”[1]
The
three main types of gender quotas are as follows:
- Legislated candidate quotas;
- Legislated reserved seats;
- Voluntary political party quotas.
Relevant parts of this section are based on the 2013 “Atlas
of Gender Quotas”, jointly published by International IDEA, the
Inter-Parliamentary Union and Stockholm University.[2]
For more information on this topic, please see related content of the
ACE Project, including: