Parity Democracy - Women's Political Representation in Fifth Republic France (Electronic book text)

In recent years, several countries have adopted measures such as candidate gender quotas to increase women's presence in electoral politics. France adopted gender parity reforms - laws to ensure equal access to elected office for women and men - in 1999 and 2000. What influence have these reforms had on women's political representation?

In Parity Democracy, Jocelyne Praud and Sandrine Dauphin assess the evolution of France's gender parity reforms, from their historical roots to their recent extension beyond the electoral sphere. Drawing on interviews with both parity advocates and opponents, as well as on key European and French legal documents, they show that although parity reforms have not dramatically boosted women's representation in the National Assembly, they have set in motion a process of feminization in the electoral sphere that bodes well for the future of parity democracy.