This web site is a collaborative effort of International IDEA, Inter‐Parliamentary Union and Stockholm University. Its purpose is to document the participation and representation by women in political decision‐making capacities throughout the world as a result of quota systems. It is intended to be used as a working research tool. Only countries with electoral gender quotas in place are included in the database. The collaborative partners responsible for the site use the information contained within the database to study the impacts of quota systems. The results of these studies are freely available from the QuotaProject web site.
This site provides an overview of the content as well as a glossary of terminology used. Data collection methods are also described. An easy to use menu bar divides the site into sections including: About Project, Quotas, Search Database, Resources, Updates, FAQs, French language option and a Google search bar. A sitemap and a contact page are included at the bottom of the page. The naming of each section accurately reflects the information contained within. The Quotas menu option, for example, provides relevant details on types of quotas used, the pros and cons of quota systems and a comment on the discrepancies between what is designated or legislated and what is actually implemented. This section is informative, well written with concepts clearly explained. The Resources section leads to country‐level publications and other resources on the topic of quotas. Most information contained in this site is provided at the country level with sub‐national level information provided on a more limited basis.
Quotas can be examined by region, by country, by quota type or by political country. In some instances, results can be sorted by clicking on a table heading. Users can access the information by clicking on a country from the map or by searching the database with additional options available from the within country profiles. Searching the database consists of a simple three step process. The first step involves moving country choices from a menu box on the left of the screen to a new selection box on the right. Then the results are filtered by selecting variables from three categories; by quota type, by quota source or by level of government, or results can be left unfiltered. The third step provides display options for the results.
The results are displayed in a simple table format which can be downloaded in Excel or csv format. Options related to the results table are the highlight of the web site. Clicking on a country name in the results window will bring up a country profile which includes a synopsis of legislative makeup and quota details. The country profile provides legal sources for quotas where applicable. These profiles are consistent in layout, terminology used and information reported. Sources of information are well documented. Links are provided from the country profile to related information provided by site partners. Table headings in the results window also link to related databases which provide more details.
The information contained in the project web site is uniquely presented when compared to other products. Although the United Nations Human Development Reports (http://hdr.undp.org/en/) regularly contain a “Gender empowerment measure” table that includes a note field designating countries with quotas, the reports lack contextual details. This is where the QuotaProject web site excels. The information, although brief, provides an overview of the parliamentary style of government for each country and the representation of women in a clear concise manner. Users can move easily between this site and relevant linked information on partner agencies' web sites and databases (e.g. voter turnout figures from the Unified Database of International IDEA (www3.idea.int/uid/)). External links are also provided to party and government web sites of the country selected, where available.
Users must remember that countries without quotas are not represented in the database (e.g. USA). It would be helpful if a note to this effect was clearly indicated on the home page or the database main page rather than well down in the About Project section. Selecting search options such as removing filters and/or using default filters produce different results than when selecting particular variables. As is the case with many databases, multiple searches may be necessary to guarantee complete results.
The web site and database are well constructed and easy to navigate. The menu bar is available throughout the site removing any chance of leaving the user stranded. The seamless movement between related sites is a welcome feature which greatly expands the amount of information available to researchers at the point of need. I found the information clear, concise and easy to use. Concepts are clearly explained. I would recommend this web site and its database for researchers at any level interested in gender issues related to political systems.
