ABSTRACT. I draw on a substantial body of theoretical and empirical research on electoral gender quotas, and using data from CAWP, CRS, EIP, Higher Heights, IPU, IWPR, Rutgers University, UNICEF, I perform analyses and make estimates regarding world and regional averages of women in legislatures worldwide, the share of elective offices held by women (U.S.), and the number of Black women in Congress. Taken together, the outcomes of the analysis support the notion that quotas are extremely adequate when they remarkably disorganize former models of male overrepresentation.

Keywords: electoral gender quota; formal political power structure; representation

How to cite: Popescu Ljungholm, Doina (2018). “Electoral Gender Quotas in Formal Political Power Structures: Breaching Patterns of Male Overrepresentation,” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 8(1): 172–178.

Received 28 January 2018 • Received in revised form 17 April 2018
Accepted 24 April 2018 • Available online 28 May 2018

doi:10.22381/JRGS81201810