The Long-Term Effects of Gender Quotas in Belgium

Abstract

In 1994, Belgium became the first country in the world to adopt legislative gender quotas for all parties competing in elections and on all levels of government. On top of the electoral gender quotas, it is stipulated in law that all governments, both federal and regional, must include at least one woman. By offering a reflection on Belgium’s quarter century experiences with these gender quotas and considering their long-term effects, this chapter explains the extent to which the provision of electoral gender quotas has actually contributed to the descriptive representation of women. It takes a more nuanced look at descriptive representation, by addressing four different aspects of it, more precisely: the numerical effect, the turnover effect, the diversity effect and the power effect. There is a distinct possibility that gender quotas too lead to ‘saturation without parity’, even if they are effectively designed as is the case in Belgium.