Several countries have adopted legislation to ensure a more equalitarian representation of men and women in democratic institutions, under the paradigm of parity, especially in Latin America. The principle of parity goes beyond the approach of gender quotas and other TSM. Unlike TSM, parity measures are not seen as temporary, but permanent, and aim to rethink the distribution of political power in terms of gender balance in the pursuit of substantive democracy. In these countries, parity is considered as a further and essential step in the construction of genuinely democratic societies, where women, who represent approximately half of the population, should be able to participate fully in the social and public life under equal conditions as men, and should also be entitled to half of the decision-making positions in the political sphere.[1]  

Although parity democracy had already been a claim of women’s groups, the concept was later defended in the Athens Declaration, adopted in the framework of the first European Summit of Women in Power in 1992, according to which “equality [of women and men] requires parity in the representation and administration of Nations.” The declaration contains several arguments in favor of an equal representation of men and women in the decision-making process: quality of democracy, good use of human resources, satisfying the needs and interests of women and improving the policy making process.[2] 

The Latin American region has been particularly active in the promotion of parity democracy, with several countries recognizing parity mechanisms in their respective legal frameworks for elections, including Bolivia (2008), Costa Rica (2009), Ecuador (2008), Mexico (2014), Nicaragua (2012) and Argentina (2017).[3] The proportion of women MPs in the lower or single chambers of these countries following the last elections is among the highest worldwide and represents, respectively, 53.1 percent, 45.6 percent, 38 percent, 48.2 percent, 45.7 percent and 38.9 percent.[4] In the case of Argentina, the law foreseeing parity mechanisms has not yet been applied in legislative elections.