Review by Choice Review
Women's historical underrepresentation as national political decision makers not only has been a major criticism of so-called democracies, but also has allegedly related to gender policy inequalities. In this comparative study, Krook (Washington Univ., St. Louis) analyzes this fascinating topic and strategies pursued worldwide to increase female representation in legislatures and parliaments. Female quotas can be found in over 100 countries, the vast majority of them put into place in the last 15 years. In a clear, well-written style, Krook lays out a framework to compare three types of quotas: reserved seats, party quotas, and legislative quotas. She also discusses four explanations for why decision makers adopted quotas and how those explanations are linked to quota effectiveness and impact. Krook's comparative research design is noteworthy. With a solid rationale for selection, she matched pairs of quota countries: Pakistan and India, Sweden and the UK, and Argentina and France. These matched comparative cases allowed Krook to develop generalizations from in-depth analyses beyond the many single case studies that exist or the more superficial cross-national studies of large numbers of countries. This signature, cross-regional study is the next step in advancing knowledge after Drude Dahlerup's edited collection, Women, Quotas, and Politics (2006). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. K. Staudt University of Texas at El Paso
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
