Gender quota

A gender quota is a quota used by countries and parties to increase women's representation or substantive equality based on gender in legislatures.^[1] Women are largely underrepresented in parliaments and account for a 26.9% average in parliaments globally.^[2] As of November 2021, gender quotas have been adopted in 132 countries.^[3] Around the world, quotas vary greatly in their enforcement and the stage of electoral process targeted, creating three main types of quotas: legislated candidate quotas, voluntary party quotas, and reserved seats.^[1] Regardless of their prevalence, they are a controversial measure, creating debates concerning their impacts, both negative and positive.^[4]