Una democrazia dimezzata : Autoselezione, selezione ed elezione delle donne in Italia

[Machine translation] Understanding with which tools and with what results gender equality is pursued and achieved in representative institutions is a politically, economically, socially and culturally relevant topic. The descriptive representation of women is the result of cultural, socio-economic and political causes that work by reinforcing or weakening each other. What can the legislator do to increase the number of women in Parliament? Since even unfavorable cultural and socio-economic conditions can be largely overcome by regulatory provisions designed to favor the candidacy and election of women, this book explores, using the Italian case, the causal mechanisms underlying the relationship between electoral systems and gender representation with the not secondary purpose of providing the legislator with a tool to make informed decisions with a view to a fairer, fairer and more legitimate representation. The book identifies the main obstacles to gender representation in self-selection and party gatekeeping and suggests acting on the selection of candidates by encouraging women's participation through inclusive procedures.