It’s nothing new that women in politics throughout the entire world are underrepresented. In addition to other factors, this phenomenon is often explained with party affiliation. A central theme is that the odds of women in political parties on the left side of the spectrum are particularly high. Furthermore, the effectiveness of quota is discussed. The problem with many studies is that only elected politicians are observed and the nomination perspective is spared. But the step from being nominated to being elected is very important because it is at that point when women must overcome the barriers within the different parties, which, in some, are often higher than in others. That’s why focus on the nomination perspective can partly explain the underrepresentation of women in the various parties. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine this question in an analysis of the nomination processes and electoral successes of women in 15 countries at 18 national elections with data from the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS). The analysis shows that party affiliation provides a key contribution to explaining the underrepresentation of women in politics. However, it is also clear that the electoral system in particular, or the question whether the candidates compete on a constituency or on a party list, provides another key contribution to this explanation.
