WOMEN's REPRESENTATION IN THE POLISH PARLIAMENT: HISTORY AND MODERNITY

Abstract

The article attempts to trace the history of women's representation in the Polish parliament, its evolution and role in contemporary Polish politics. The author draws attention to the socio-demographic characteristics of women parliamentarians at the beginning of the 20th century and in modern times, to the role of gender quotas in achieving gender equality in the political sphere of the country. The author uses a database of women politicians created as part of a scientific project to analyze Polish women parliamentarians, and also compiles a summary table of the representation of women parliamentarians in the Sejm and the Senate of the country from the moment Poland gained independence to the present day. The author comes to the conclusion that for more than a hundred years of the presence of Polish women in parliament, their composition has become much more consistent with the real social structure of Polish society; the introduction of gender quotas has contributed to the expansion of women's representation, but has not destroyed all existing barriers to Polish women in politics.