A comparative analysis of women's representation in parliaments in the context of democracy

The political participation and representation of women have been significant topics of debate in the evolution of modern democracies. Historically, women were deprived of citizenship rights and excluded from the political arena during the development of democratic processes. Today, with the evolution of democratic regimes, there has been a noticeable increase in academic interest regarding women's political participation and representation. There is a growing understanding that increasing the representation of women in parliaments has profound effects on the functioning of democracy. This study aims to make a significant contribution to better understanding the relationship between women's representation in parliaments and democratization processes, as well as to strengthening the role of women in political decision-making. By thoroughly examining factors that influence the level of democracy, such as gender quotas, electoral systems, the duration of the democratic process, the level of economic development, and government systems, this study seeks to identify effective policy measures to enhance women's representation in parliaments. In the research, various indices and data sources covering the years 2000-2020 were analyzed. A total of 142 countries worldwide were examined in detail. In this context, the proportion of women in parliaments was used as the dependent variable. The independent variables included countries' levels of democracy, human development levels, the year women gained the right to vote and stand for election in national elections, government systems, electoral systems, and gender quotas. Three models were employed in the study: Model 1 included all countries, Model 2 covered 69 countries with high levels of democracy, and Model 3 involved 73 countries with low levels of democracy. These models were tested using three different analytical methods: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Ordinary Least Squares (ROBUST), and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), all performed using the STATA software. According to the results of the study, there is no significant relationship between a country's level of democracy, economic development, government systems, and women's representation in parliament. Additionally, a positive relationship was identified in countries with gender quotas for both Model 1 and Model 3. In Model 1, a significant relationship was found regarding the duration of women's right to stand for election. Furthermore, countries using a more proportional electoral system (proportional representation) showed a significant relationship for both Model 1 and Model 2.