Women Quota System in Parliament A Comparative Study between Egypt and The Scandinavian Countries

Abstract

The U.N. organizations and the CEDAW agreement have urged countries to ensure a minimum representation of 30% for women in parliaments, and necessitated taking temporary discriminatory measures to achieve such target.

The Scandinavian experience proved that implementing a quota system voluntarily through parties was very successful in reaching a level of 30-40% of representation of women in parliaments. The high socio-economic standard of women in these countries was not sufficient to reach such a result.

In Egypt the socio-economic standard of women is low compared to men. Women cannot wait too long for these factors to substantially improve. Experience had shown that a reasonable level of representation was achieved only where a quota system was applied through law. Such kind of legislative regulation is highly needed. The electoral system of proportionate list is more favorable to women, and ensuring a minimum level of representation may be necessary. The debate running these days in Egypt concerning a constitutional reform may be a golden chance to reach such a goad.