Zetterberg, Pär, Elin Bjarnegard, Melanie Hughes, and Pamela Paxton. 2022. “Democracy and the Adoption of Electoral Gender Quotas Worldwide.” Comparative Politics 54(2):327-348.
This article theorizes and uses global and longitudinal data on gender quota laws to investigate how levels and dimensions of democracy affect the adoption of different quotatypes. Our results demonstrate that countries at middle levels of the democracy scale are more likely to adopt quotas. Within this diverse group of countries, those that have relatively low levels of electoral contestation (i.e., limited political rights) are most likely to adopt reserved seats. On the other hand, the likelihood of adopting candidate quotas is highest in countries where the protection of civil liberties (i.e., individual freedoms of association, etc.) is moderately high. Our findings suggest that different levels and dimensions of democracy provide political actors with incentives and constraints that create distinct trajectories for quota adoption.
Hughes, Melanie, Pamela Paxton, Sharon Quinsaat, Nicholas Reith*. 2018. “Does the Global North Still Dominate Women’s International Organizing? A Network Analysis from 1978 to 2008.” Mobilization 23:1-21.
Over the last century, women increasingly transcended national boundaries to exchange information, build solidarity, and bring change. Accounts suggest that as women's international presence expanded, the types of women who participated also shifted. During the first wave of women's movements, White Western women dominated, but over time women of the Global South increasingly organized themselves. Yet we do not know whether North-South inequalities in women's organizational membership have diminished. We collect longitudinal network data on 447 women's international nongovernmental organizations (WINGOs) and use visual tools and network measures to explore changes in the network structure from 1978 to 2008. Results suggest (1) WINGOs-while increasing in frequency-are not connecting to greater numbers of countries, (2) the North/South split in WINGO memberships does not change over time, (3) significant power differences between the North and South persist, and (4) substantial inequalities in WINGO memberships within the Global South also exist.
Hughes, Melanie, Pamela Paxton, and Mona Lena Krook. 2017. “Gender Quotas for Legislatures and Corporate Boards.” Annual Review of Sociology 43:331-352
The global proliferation of quotas for women over the past 30 years is both remarkable and consequential. Targeting decision-making positions historically resistant to women's equal inclusion, the adoption of electoral and corporate board quotas has at times been controversial. After adoption, quotas have influenced women's numbers, the performance and outcomes of decision-making bodies, and broader public attitudes. In this review, we distinguish among types of electoral and corporate quotas, trace arguments for and against the adoption of quotas, and review research on factors that influence quota adoption across time and space. After outlining the methodological difficulties in demonstrating an impact of gender quotas, we review research that is able to isolate an impact of quotas in politics and business. We conclude by providing several suggestions to ensure that future research continues to advance our understanding of the form, spread, and impact of gender quotas.