Professor Luciana Oliveira Ramos, member of the Law, Gender and Identity Research Group of FGV’s Sao Paulo Law School (Direito SP), published the article titled “The Gender Gap in Brazilian Politics and the Role of the Electoral Court”, co-written by Virgílio Afonso da Silva, professor at USP Law School, in the Politics & Gender journal of e Cambridge University Press, in the UK.

The article breaks down measures adopted by Brazil to increase women’s representation in politics, as well as the reasons explaining why quotas are inefficient for women across all levels of the country’s public sphere. In addition to linking the ineffectiveness of quotas to Brazil’s election system and political party structure, the authors also shed light onto a somewhat overlooked subject in this field: the role of electoral courts in enforcing gender quota policies.

“One of the variables often overlooked in this field of study is the Superior Electoral Court, since it plays a key role in terms of control when it is called upon to decide on issues involving enforcement of the quota act. The general conclusion is that this Court typically rules in favor of increasing women’s representation in positions of proportional representation”, said Ramos.

The expert points out, however, that the Court’s influence is much more emphatic in simpler cases that don’t have as much impact. In cases like the recent dummy candidates, however, the Court is still not as committed.

Go to the website to read the article.