Gender en etniciteit in de Tweede Kamer: streefcijfers en groepsvertegenwoordiging

Abstract

Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in national parliaments around the world. Interestingly, in the Netherlands ethnic minority women are better represented than ethnic minority men and ethnic majority women. The Netherlands did not adopt women quotas, but some parties implemented target numbers voluntarily. Drawing on document analysis and interviews this article explores whether parties that encourage women representation are also likely to structurally increase the number of ethnic minority representatives. It finds that party-specific factors such as a left or social democratic ideology, the institutionalization of gender and/or ethnicity within and the party’s vision on group representation are intertwined. Parties that actively encourage women’s representation are more inclined to openly acknowledge the importance of ethnic diversity. This especially favours ethnic minority women, who benefit from the strong embedding of gender. In the end gender determines the success of the ethnic card in political representation.