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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Parity Democracy

Women’s Political Representation in Fifth Republic France

Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Parity Democracy

Women’s Political Representation in Fifth Republic France

In 1999 and 2000, France adopted laws to ensure equal access to elected office for women and men. Parity Democracy explores the evolution and influence of France’s gender parity reforms, from their historical roots to their recent extension beyond the electoral sphere. Drawing on extensive interviews, as well as on European and French legal documents, Praud and Dauphin show that although these reforms have not dramatically boosted women’s representation in the National Assembly, they have set in motion a process of feminization in the electoral sphere that bodes well for the future of parity democracy.

204 pages | © 2011


Table of Contents

Introduction

1 French Women’s Struggle for Political Rights and Parity

Part 1: Interviews with Parity Advocates and Critics

2 Women’s New Cause: Gisèle Halimi

3 Equality in Difference: Monique Dental

4 Equality in the Political Sphere: Sylvie Ulrich

5 Favouring Equality of Opportunity in Politics: Michèle Alliot-Marie

6 A Voluntarist Measure to Achieve Equality: Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin

7 An Extraordinay Measure to Overcome Men’s Extraordinary Resistance: Yvette Roudy

8 A Tool for Equality: Geneviève Fraisse

9 Affirmative Action Rather than Parity: Christine Delphy

10 Institutionalizing the Division of the Sexes: Eleni Varikas

Part 2: Founding Documents on Gender Parity in Politics

11 Declaration of Athens, 3 November 1992

12 Manifesto of the 577 for Parity Democracy, 10 November 1993

13 Decree No. 95-1114 on the Creation of an Observatoire de la Parité entre les Femmes et les Hommes, 18 October 1995

14 Charter of Rome, 18 May 1996

15 Manifesto of the Ten for Parity, 6 June 1996

16 Constitutional Law No. 99-569 on Equality between Women and Men, 8 July 1999

17 Law No. 2000-493 to Favour Women’s and Men’s Equal Access to Elected Office, 6 June 2000

18 Constitutional Law No. 2008-724 on the Modernization of the Institutions of the Fifth Republic, 23 July 2008

Conclusion

Appendix 1: Chronology on French Women’s Struggle for Political Rights

Appendix 2: Interview Guide

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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