The Gender Issue in Belgian Party Politics and Elections

This article looks at how female politicians in Belgium, driven by a strong women’s movement, have sought to achieve gender parity in politics. The first part explains the system of legislated candidate quotas introduced in 1994. The second part deals with the way the Flemish Christian Democratic party and its women’s movement, which greatly contributed to the establishment of the quota system, have used the new legal framework to raise awareness and promote female candidates during and beyond election campaigns. We will conclude that both adequate legal conditions and a proactive stance towards women’s empowerment on the part of political parties are crucial to achieving gender parity.