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31 Comp. Pol. Stud. 3 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/compls31 and id is 1 raw text is: Gender quotas represent a commonly advocated method by which to address the severe underrepresentation of women in the world's legislatures. This study analyzes the effect of gender quota laws on the election of women legislators. It also examines the extent to which other electoral rules can influence the effect of quotas on the election of women. Argentina's provinces employ a wide variety of electoral law arrangements for the election of their provincial legislatures, thereby providing a unique population with which to explore the effect of quotas. The use of a gender quota law is found to have a significant positive impact on the percentage of women elected to the Argentine provincial legislatures. At the same time, the type of party list used is found to have a potent influence on the efficacy of gender quota laws in increasing the percentage of women elected. The study provides considerable support for the position of gender quota advocates. It also suggests that reformers must pay close attention to the institu- tional environment in which a quota law is being implemented. GENDER QUOTAS, ELECTORAL LAWS, AND THE ELECTION OF WOMEN Lessons From the Argentine Provinces MARK P. JONES Michigan State University T he percentage of women representatives in a legislature is of funda- mental importance. First, women's presence in a legislature has signifi- cant policy consequences. Women legislators are more likely than their male colleagues to represent women's interests and to support legislation that is beneficial to women (Carroll, Dodson, & Mandel, 1991; Dodson et al., 1995; Saint-Germain, 1989; Sinkkonen & Haavio-Mannila, 1981; Thomas, 1994). AUTHOR'S NOTE: Lisa Baldez, Mala Htun, Ruth S. Jones, Richard E. Matland, Michael Mintrom, and Donley T Studlar provided many helpful comments and suggestions. I thank Marta Valle and Silvia Piieiro, both of the Argentine Ministry of the Interior as well as Mabel Maidana for their tremendous assistance in gathering the materials used in this article. This research was supported by grants from the Michigan State University Political Institutions and Public Choice Program and from the Michigan State University Center for Advanced Study of International Development and Women and International Development Program. COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES, Vol. 31 No. 1, February 1998 3-21 @ 1998 Sage Publications, Inc. 3 from the SAGE Social Science Collections. All Rights Reserved.

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