In recent years, several countries have adopted measures such as candidate gender quotas to increase women's presence in electoral politics. France adopted gender parity reforms - laws to ensure equal access to elected office for women and men - in 1999 and 2000. Have these reforms had a positive effect on women's political representation? In Parity Democracy, Jocelyne Praud and Sandrine Dauphin answer this question by tracing the evolution of France's gender parity reforms, from their historical roots to their recent extension beyond the electoral sphere. They combine analysis of women's historical struggle to acquire and exercise political rights, interviews with parity advocates and opponents, and translations of key European and French legal documents. This unique blend of interpretation, open-ended interviews, and primary documents offers a well-rounded perspective on the pros and cons of the parity reforms and their effect on women in politics. Although parity reforms have not dramatically boosted women's representation in the National Assembly, this book reveals that they have set in motion a process of feminization in the electoral sphere that bodes well for the future of parity democracy.