Abstract

Women's political participation is a key component of a lively democracy. Nowadays in Italy, 82% of senators and 79% of deputies are men. The exclusion of women from the formal arena of politics is therefore a dramatic phenomenon. To address this gender gap the quota system has been introduced in various countries of the world. In the present work we aimed to reflect upon these issues, starting from theories and research in social psychology. Moreover on the basis of a survey conducted with students of Political Sci- ence, it emerged that a gender gap in the intention of entering politics is present in this particular sample as well. We also found that the attitude towards gender quotas was more favorable in women and that men who endorsed higher levels of hostile sexism were the strongest opponents. In light of the findings, we discussed the many advan tages but also the possible risks of this measure