Without women merely a half-democracy

Alongside the institutionalisation of the rule of law anddemocratic procedures, a balanced political participationand representation in a society constitutes afundamental prerequisite for a vibrant democracy.Therefore, the fact that women’s participation in thepolitical decision-making and opinion formationprocesses is only marginal, or at best mediocre, is a coreproblem for the theory and practice of democracy.However, an enhanced or even equal representationof women in political decision-making bodies does notautomatically mean that gender equality has beenachieved. For this, the issue must enter the mainstreamof political discussion and become an indispensable...