Parity Democracy

In recent years, several countries have adopted measures such ascandidate gender quotas to increase womens presence in electoralpolitics. France adopted gender parity reforms laws to ensureequal access to elected office for women and men in 1999and 2000. What influence have these reforms had on womenspolitical representation? In Parity Democracy, Jocelyne Praud and Sandrine Dauphinassess the evolution of Frances gender parity reforms, fromtheir historical roots to their recent extension beyond the electoralsphere. Drawing on interviews with both parity advocates and opponents,as well as on key European and French legal documents, they show thatalthough parity reforms have not dramatically boosted womensrepresentation in the National Assembly, they have set in motion aprocess of feminization in the electoral sphere that bodes well for thefuture of parity democracy.