Gender Equality in Jordanian Politics: Quotas, Representation, and Feminist Institutionalism

Sammanfattning

Jordan has over the past two decades frequently been noted as a relatively progressive example in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region regarding women’s parliamentary representation. The introduction of gender quotas has increased the proportion of women in parliament, and is commonly perceived in international context as a progress of gender equality work. This paper examines the extent to which gender quotas and gender equality reforms in Jordan contribute to the substantial representation of women, or whether they rather function as legitimizing measures of global governance, especially in relation to the 2030 Agenda and goal 5 on gender equality. Using feminist institutionalism and intersectionality as theoretical frameworks, the interaction between formal institutions, informal norms and international gender equality discourses is analyzed. Based on an analysis of policy reports from OECD and UN Women, election observation reports from the EU, academic literature and media discourses. The results show that despite increased formal opportunities for women to take a seat in parliament, their actual influence is limited by informal power structures such as clientelism, tribal loyalties and gendered norms around political leadership. Furthermore, it emerges that the quota system tends to benefit socio-economically privileged groups of women, which risks reproducing rather than challenging existing inequalities.