New NWCI Blog by Fiona Buckley: How to make gender quotas work

Published: Monday, August 26, 2013

In July 2012 the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act was passed by the Oireachtas. As part of the Government's political reform agenda, the law provides for a legal candidate gender quotafor future general elections in Ireland. The new law obliges parties to run at least 30% women candidates in the next general election or lose half of the State funding they receive annually under the Electoral Act 1997. The threshold will rise to 40% seven years thereafter. Given that tight restrictions on corporate donations were also introduced by the Act, the gender quota provisions are a significant financial incentive 'to encourage political parties to apply a more equal gender balance in the selection of candidates' 

In the latest NWCI Blog, Fiona Buckley outlines how political parties can make gender quotas work, ensuring that politics is more representative.