Izvorni znanstveni članak
POLICY OF GENDER EQUALITY: HOW TO ACHIEVE THE “CRITICAL MASS” OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS?
Smiljana Leinert Novosel
; Fakultet političkih znanosti Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Each election year in Croatia is an occasion for comparing the social
guidelines and the practice. To what extent is the policy of gender
equality applied to the participation of women in political decision-
making at the parliamentary level in Croatia? Modest results are
not an exception: almost in all countries there is the gap between the
two. Nevertheless, the extent of the participation in older democratic
countries is on the average somewhat higher, which can be attributed
to the influence of the egalitarian concept of gender roles and the
proportional electoral system. In younger democratic countries, including Croatia, the average is somewhat lower due to the significance of socio-economic factors. In some countries a higher level of participation can for the time being be achieved only via the mechanisms of affirmative action i.e. quotas. Therefore, for Croatia it is essential to achieve the “critical mass” of women in its parliament,
which can be brought about by introducing quotas at the party level,
by democratic selective procedures of nominating candidates, and by
putting up candidates of both genders on the party lists, which means
that the highest percentages of women in the parliament can be expected from modern parties promoting the deliberate regulation of the above processes.
Ključne riječi
policy of gender equality; women in parliaments; elections; political parties; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
20836
URI
Datum izdavanja:
11.9.2007.
Posjeta: 3.563 *