One of the most controversial, yet important tools to promote women into the political arena has been the gender quota. The Strategic use of Gender Quotas in the Arab World,  written by Hybl Reseach Fellow Bozena Chrisina Welbourne, explores the mix of incentives seen in the variation in gender quota adoption within legislatures across the Middle East and North Africa.

Welbourne uses event history analysis to estimate which factors predict gender quota adoption across 22 Arab League countries from 1990 to 2009. The paper finds that the increasingly economic nature of international influence exerted through development assistance consistently impacts the probability of adopting gender quotas in Arab legislatures.

To download the paper, please click here.

The William and Kathy Hybl Fellowship, funded by William Hybl, Vice Chairman of IFES Board of Directors, and wife, Kathy, awards one $5,000 Hybl Fellowship to bring outstanding graduate students from the Rocky Mountain region to Washington, D.C. to conduct research in democracy-building. The Hybl Fellowship is available to U.S. or international graduate students attending universities in the following states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. IFES is currently accepting applications for the 2011 Hybl Fellowship.

For more information on how to apply, please click here.