In order to promote more gender-equal participation in democracy, many German political parties have adopted gender quotas for candidates for elective office. This talk describes the affirmative action policies parties have employed and discusses their strengths and weaknesses in creating a democracy in which male and female citizens share power equally. The presentation will be based on a survey of, and interviews with, actual and potential candidates for elective office in Germany.

Louise K. Davidson-Schmich is a professor of political science at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Davidson-Schmich’s research has been funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Fulbright Program. She is the author of Gender, Institutions, and Intersections: Intersectional Groups Building Alliances and Gaining Voice in Germany (2017) and Gender Quotas and Democratic Participation: Recruiting Candidates for Elective Offices in Germany (2016). She received a PhD from Duke University.