Women Quotas

The Munathara Initiative launches its new Musabaqa on the topic: Arab Women’s Participation: Only through Quotas? Across the Arab world, women are drastically underrepresented in politics, business and society. Only 17.8 percent of parliamentary seats in the region are occupied by women, compared to 42 percent in the Nordic countries, according to statistics by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Women participation has also been lagging behind in civil society, entrepreneurship and the workforce. Many are therefore raising the question: Can women’s participation in our region only be ensured through quotas? By allocating a fixed number of seats for women in Arab governments, parliaments, boardrooms and in the workforce, can the problem be solved? Many argue that quotas in politics are undemocratic because they limit the choice of voters and cannot be reconciled with the principle of meritocracy. But then, are there any other solutions?