"HISTORIC: NOTHING WITHOUT US"

PARITY AND THE NEW CONSTITUTION: THE CASE OF CHILE

Abstract

This article discusses the political representation of women in Chile in the context of the constituent process. Based on the analytic framework of inclusive gender political reforms, she examines the latest institutional change that promotes the representation of women in Chile: parity at the Constitutional Convention (2020). Using the process tracing methodology, we analyze the institutional reforms that promote women's participation and the political and social context in which they are developed. The article argues that at a historic juncture of constitutional change, the sustained mobilization of women, the cross-cutting coordination  of political women, and the political leadership of key women, such as president Michele Bachelet and Senate President Adriana Muñoz, allowed for substantive changes in measures for women's political representation, resulting in mechanisms for democratic innovation.