SHARECountry Data
Austria (Republic of Austria) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas. 74 of 183 (40%) seats in the Nationalrat / National Council are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? No
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? No
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jan 16, 2023
Single/Lower House
Nationalrat / National Council
| Total seats | 183 |
| Total Women | 74 |
| % Women | 40% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | No legislated |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Upper House
Bundesrat / Federal Council
| Total seats | 61 |
| Total Women | 25 |
| % Women | 41% |
| Election Year | 2009 |
| Electoral System | Indirectly elected / appointed |
| Quota Type | No legislated> |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: No legislated | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | ||
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No data available | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Greens-Green Alternative | Die Grünen-Die Grünen Alternativen [GA] | GA has a 50 per cent quota for women on party lists (1993). | |
| Austrian People's party | Österreichische Volkspartei [ÖVP] | ÖVP has a 40 per cent quota for women on party lists (Organizational Statute of the People's Party, 2022). | |
| Social Democratic Party of Austria | Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs [SPÖ] | Both in the election of functionaries of the SPÖ, as in the creation of lists of candidates for the SPÖ is to ensure that not less than 40% women and no less than 40% men are represented. (SPÖ Party Statutes 2021) |
* 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
Gender quotas are not manifested in Austrian law, however a number of political parties have internal policies on gender quotas. The Socialist Party (SPÖ) were the first ones to adopt a 25 per cent women’s quota for national elections candidacies in 1985, which in 1993 rose to 40 %.
The Greens adopted a 50-50 % split between women and men in 1990, and in 1995 the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) adopted a quota where women are to make up at least a third, 33,3 %. There are also parties who are ideologically opposed to gender quotas, there among The Freedom Party (FPÖ).
The 2017 parliamentary elections saw a slight increase of the previous number of women, increasing with 1,1%.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Austrian Federal Constitution Law
- IPU - Women in Parliament in 2017: The Year in Review
- OSCE/ODIR Election Assessment Mission Final Report
OTHER SOURCES:
- Rosenberger, S. K. 1998. Politics, Gender, and Equality. Günter Bischof, Anton Pelinka, Erika Thurner (ed.) Women in Austria, Volume 6. Taylor & Francis
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Austria on iKNOW Politics
- Gresch, N. & Sauer B. (2015). Debates on Women's Representation in Austria. Or: The Development of the Pitfalls of a Conservative Gender Regime. Available here
- Austrian Federal Chancellery. 'Women in Leadership Positions'.
- Hayek, L. & Russmann U. (2020). Those who have the power get the coverage – Female politicians in campaign coverage in Austria over time.
- Köpl, R. 2005. ‘Gendering political representation: debates and controversies in Austria’, in Lovenduski, J. et al (eds) State Feminism and Political Representation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 20-40.
- Caul, M. 2001. ‘Political Parties and the Adoption of Candidate Gender Quotas: A Cross National analysis’. Journal of Politics. 63(4) pp. 1214-1229.
- Steininger, B. 2000. ‘Representation of Women in the Austrian Political System 1945-1998: From a Token Female Politician Towards an Equal Ratio?’ Women and Politics. 21, (2). pp. 81-106.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU]. 1997. Participation of Women in Political Life. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Austrian Parliament website, Available Here.