SHARECountry Data
Argentina (Argentine Republic) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house and upper house and at the sub-national level. 115 of 257 (45%) seats in the Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jan 16, 2023
Single/Lower House
Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
| Total seats | 257 |
| Total Women | 115 |
| % Women | 45% |
| Election Year | 2021 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | Article 37.2 establishes that actual equality of opportunity for men and women for elective and political party positions shall be guaranteed by means of positive actions in the regulation of political parties and in the electoral system. |
| Electoral law | The Electoral Code of 2012 was modified on 23 November 2017, through approval of Law No 27,412. Article 60bis of the law establishes that the lists of candidates for the National Congress (Deputies and Senators) and the Mercosur Parliament must be carried out ´placing interspersed women and men from the first titular candidate to the last alternate candidate´. The Law, therefore, takes female representation on the electoral lists to 50 per cent, guaranteeing the principle of gender equivalent participation. |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Article 60bis of the Electoral Law states that the lists of candidates to be presented for the election of national senators, national deputies and Mercosur parliamentarians must be composed with an intercalation of women and men from the first titular candidate to the last substitute candidate. Additionally, Article 8 of the Decree No. 1246/2000f establishes that, if a party list does not comply with the rank order requirements, the competent electoral judge shall notify the concerned party which should change the order of the candidates in the list within 48 hours. In case the party does not abide by these requirements, the competent Court shall place in the appropriate places the women candidates who are next on the party list. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | Article 3, 4 and 5 of the Decree 1246/2000 establishes that 30% is aimed at the pool of seats the party is trying to renew. There must always be at least 1 woman for every 2 men. Parties without representation or with only 1 or 2 seats to renew are obliged to have 1 woman of the top 2 candidates; parties renewing more than 2 seats must have at least 1 woman in the first 3 candidates. |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | There are no individuals candidatures, it´s a closed, blocked-party-list system and lists must be conformed by a certain % of womens. There is no information in legislation or other sources that a connection between direct public funding and the gender equality is in use. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | Yes, funds earmarked for gender activities | At least 30% of the funds allocated to political training must be used for the training, promotion, and development of political leadership skills of female members of the political party. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Senado / Senate
| Total seats | 72 |
| Total Women | 31 |
| % Women | 43% |
| Election Year | 2021 |
| Electoral System | Majority (using party lists) |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas> |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | Article 37.2 establishes that actual equality of opportunity for men and women for elective and political party positions shall be guaranteed by means of positive actions in the regulation of political parties and in the electoral system. |
| Electoral law | The Electoral Code of 2012 was modified on 23 November 2017, through approval of Law No 27,412. Article 60.3 of the law establishes that the lists of candidates for the National Congress (Deputies and Senators) and the Mercosur Parliament must be carried out ´placing interspersed women and men from the first titular candidate to the last alternate candidate´. The Law, therefore, takes female representation on the electoral lists to 50 per cent, guaranteeing the principle of gender equivalent participation. |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Article 60bis of the Electoral Law states that the lists of candidates to be presented for the election of national senators, national deputies and Mercosur parliamentarians must be composed with an intercalation of women and men from the first titular candidate to the last substitute candidate. Additionally, Article 8 of the Decree No. 1246/2000f establishes that, if a party list does not comply with the rank order requirements, the competent electoral judge shall notify the concerned party which should change the order of the candidates in the list within 48 hours. In case the party does not abide by these requirements, the competent Court shall place in the appropriate places the women candidates who are next on the party list. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | There must always be at least 1 woman for every 2 men. Parties without representation or with only 1 or 2 seats to renew are obliged to have 1 woman of the top 2 candidates; parties renewing more than 2 seats must have at least 1 woman in the first 3 candidates. (Decree 1246/2000, Articles 3,4 & 5) |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | ‘Actual equality of opportunity for men and women for elective and political party positions shall be guaranteed by means of positive actions in the regulation of political parties and in the electoral system.’ (Constitution of 1994, Article 37 [2]) |
| Electoral law | Quota regulation varies throughout the country, but requirements are included in provincial laws and in the constitution of Buenos Aires City. | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Various provincial legal acts | Quota regulation varies throughout the country, but requirements are included in provincial laws and in the constitution of Buenos Aires City. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Various provincial legal acts | Quota regulation varies throughout the country, but requirements are included in provincial laws and in the constitution of Buenos Aires City. |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Justicialist Party | Partido Justicialista [PJ] | The delegates of the National Congress must meet the conditions required to be national deputies and have two uninterrupted years as affiliates and each district must respect in its representation the gender parity established in law 27,412. Law 27,412 on Gender Parity in Areas of Political Representation is an Argentine legislation that establishes that the lists of candidates for the National Congress (deputies and senators) and the Mercosur Parliament must be made "placing women and men interspersed from the first titular candidate for the last substitute candidate". |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
The Electoral Code of 2012 was modified on 23 November 2017, through approval of Law No 27,412. Although the draft had been approved in the Senate in October 2016, it did not reach the Chamber of Deputies until shortly before the end of the 2017 session. In the long session on November 22, Rep Victoria Donda (Movimiento Libres del Sur asked that the project be treated on the tables. This, in the early hours of the morning, with 165 votes in favour, 4 votes against, 2 abstentions and 82 absent deputies, the bill became the law.
The Electoral Code of 2012 was modified on 23 November 2017, through approval of Law No 27,412. Article 60.3 of the law establishes that the lists of candidates for the National Congress (Deputies and Senators) and the Mercosur Parliament must be carried out ´placing interspersed women and men from the first titular candidate to the last alternate candidate´. The Law, therefore, takes female representation on the electoral lists to 50 per cent, guaranteeing the principle of gender equivalent participation. This decision is in tune with the local legislation of some provinces, such as Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, Río Negro and, more recently, Buenos Aires, which for several years now have laws of equivalent gender participation.
In 1993, Decree 379 set a minimum number of seats that would have to be accorded to women: at least one post when 2-4 were available, at least two posts where 5-8 were available, at least three when 9-11 were available, at least four when 12-14 were available, at least five when 15-18 were available, and at least six when 19-20 were available. Also in 1993, the law was clarified so that for every two males placed on the list, at least one female must also be placed; and when only two names are presented, one must be a woman. In 2000, this was extended to all elections and to all seats that a party was renewing (Marx & Borner 2008: 5).
By 1999, 22 of Argentina’s 24 provinces had adopted quota rules for the state legislature and for most municipal councils. During 2017 the elections were held to renew one-half of the seats (127) in the Chamber of Deputies on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. The results of that election show that 48 women were elected.
The participation of women has risen to around 40% in the last years. In 2020, the country ranks number 19 in the IPU ranking of Women in Parliament.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Argentina (rev.1994) (English, French and Spanish version).
- Modificación del Código Electoral Nacional [National Electoral Code 19.945 as amended by Law no. 26.774 B.O., 2 November 2012];
- Modificatión del Código Electoral National [National Electoral Code 26.774 as amended by Law no. 27.412 B.O., 22 November 2017];
- Decreto no 1246/2000, Reglamentario del Artículo 60 del Código Electoral Nacional, Cupo Femenino B.O., 4/1/2001 [Decree no 1246/2000, Regulatory Act Pertaining to Article 60 of the National Electoral Code, on Gender Quotas, 4 January 2001];
- Estatutos de los Partidos Políticos (Political Parties Statutes)
OTHER SOURCES:
- Cámara Nacional Electoral [National Electoral Council] (Official website);
- Honorable Cámara de Diputados de la Nación, República Argentina [Argentina, Chamber of Deputies] (Official website).
- Llanos, B (2019): “Surcando olas y contra-olas. Una mirada paritaria a los derechos políticos de las mujeres en América Latina.“. Atenea, International IDEA, ONU Mujeres, UNDP.
- Marx, J. and Borner, J., ‘¿Argentina? Avances y desafíos en el camino hacia una mayor igualdad entre los géneros en la arena política’ [Argentina? Advances and challenges on the path towards greater gender equality in the political arena‘], in B. Llanos and K. Sample (eds), Del dicho al hecho: manual de buenas practicas para la participación de mujeres en los partidos políticos latinoamericanos [From words to action: best practices for women’s participation in Latin American political parties] (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2009)
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Argentina on iKNOW Politics
- Caminotti,M. and del Cogliano, N.(2017): "La Paridad Política en Argentina: Avances y Desafíos". Buenos Aires: Atenea, UNDP, International IDEA and ONU Mujeres
- LeDuc, Niemi, & Norris eds, "Comparing Democracies: Elections and Voting in Global Perspective" (Sage Publications, 1996) [accessed: 2020-02-12];
- Piscopo, J. 2016. "Women, Representation, and Policy Change in Argentina", Panoramas Scholary Platform. , Published 14 June 2016, Accessed 10 October 2018.
- Marx, J. & Jutta B. 2008 "Avances y desafíos en el camino hacia una mayor igualdad entre los géneros en la arena política" in Sample, K. and Llanos, B. (ed) Del Dicho al Hecho [International IDEA]