The zipper system, also known as "vertical parity" or the "zebra system",
is a type of gender quota for
party lists
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
in
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...
s. It requires that parties alternate between women and men on their candidate lists, meaning that 50% of the candidates are women and 50% are men.
[Electoral Gender Quota Systems and their Implementation in Europe: Update 2013]
Directorate-General for Internal Policies The zipper method is applied to election laws in many countries in order to achieve equal gender representation in candidates and, potentially, elected members.
Process
The zipper system requires parties to create a candidate list in which the gender of the candidates alternates between women and men so that when seats are allocated, the gender of the elected members alternates for each additional seat a party wins.
This can result in a near 50–50 split between the number of women and men elected for that party.
Vertical parity can also be combined with horizontal parity, which works in tandem towards the same goal.
Horizontal parity requires that each party also fields an equal number of candidate lists with female and male candidates at the top of the list across each constituency that the party contests.
Usage
Some countries mandate the zipper system in their electoral laws.
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Bolivia,
Costa Rica,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
,
Lesotho,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
all implement the zipper system through election law in at least one elected body.
Of these countries, many do not use the zipper system evenly across legislative bodies, or have additional requirements. In France, only the electoral bodies that use proportional allocation of seats use the zipper system.
[France](_blank)
IDEA Gender Quotas Database Similarly, in Zimbabwe, the zipper system is only used in the
Senate elections, and only requires that 60 out of the 80 seats in the Senate apply the zipper system.
[Zimbabwe](_blank)
IDEA Gender Quotas Database In addition to vertical parity, Costa Rica uses horizontal parity system, forcing parties to alternate between women and men at the top of their lists in different provinces. Finally, while
Mauritania does not use a country-wide vertical parity gender quota rule, they do require that constituencies that require three or more names on the party list to use the zipper system.
[Al Jamiya-Al-Wataniya (National Assembly)](_blank)
IPU Zipper systems were also introduced in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in 1993, but these laws were overturned by the constitutional court in 1995.
[4. Quotas and Affirmative Action to increase female participation in political life](_blank)
Directorate-General for Research
![Swedish Social Democratic Party in Vasaparken in 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Swedish_Social_Democratic_Party_in_Vasaparken_in_2013.jpg)
In countries without a legal requirement, some parties choose to implement the zipper system on their own lists, such as the
Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP).
The SAP's introduction of the zipper system in 1993 led to 48% of its candidates in the
1994 general elections being women, and contributed to a record number of female MPs being elected to the
Riksdag.
Elsewhere, until 2007, local
left-wing parties
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
in some provinces of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, including
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
,
Castile-La Mancha, and the
Balearic Islands, voluntarily implemented zipped candidate lists after the
Popular Party obstructed implementing a zipped system in local election laws for the regions.
With the passage of the Equality Law under the
Spanish Socialist Worker's Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
, local zipper laws took effect in 2007.
Analysis
Research has shown that the zipper system to a gender quota ensures near-parity of women and men in legislative bodies.
Some research has shown that, in fact, having a gender quota with no rank order rule may be purely symbolic.
This is because, in the absence of a zipped list rule, women may not be present in winnable positions of the party list (i.e. women are disproportionally placed at the bottom rather than towards the top of the party list
) and are thus not elected, despite a gender quota requirement.
However, although the zipper system rank-order rule requires a 50–50 split between women and men on party lists, it does not always translate to equality of representation in legislatures.
Parties, while required to alternate between men and women, often put a man in the first position on the list.
If parties win odd numbers of seats in a given election and if the party list begins with a man, the number of men elected will be equal to the number of women elected plus one.
This gender imbalance is unavoidable where there are odd numbers of seats, but if the candidate at the top is consistently of one gender, this will advantage that gender (in this case, men).
Since this is a common occurrence across many different constituencies and electoral districts, the gender breakdown of the final electoral body can often still be skewed towards men by small to significant margins. Some studies have also shown that the assumption that women are placed at the bottom of party lists consistently is not entirely correct, making placement mandates like the zipper system a moot point.
This, however, is in contrast to many other studies finding the opposite.
References
{{reflist
Party-list proportional representation
Gender equality