OECD countries had 31.6% female representation in their parliaments in 2021. Efforts to improve gender equality in politics have been implemented. However, a change in French electoral rules in 2013 unintentionally caused issues.
The rule required candidates’ names to be listed alphabetically in pairs by gender, leading to confusion among voters.
This disproportionately affected right-wing female candidates, who received 1.5% fewer votes when listed first compared to their male counterparts.
Image courtesy of interviewee. November 11, 2023