In post-socialist countries the introducing quotas in order to increase the presence of women in decision-making structures has a very important meaning. Even they are used to increase the political presence of women, still, they don’t have a power to solve the issue of women under-representation. This research will be focused on a new EU members and accession countries with particular interest on the case of Macedonia as a part of the Western Balkans, because of the transition process, involvement in war’s, EU integration as an external pressure. As a factor influencing women’s political presence, we will consider political strategies – electoral and voluntary quotas; electoral systems, the influence of political parties, the key players at national, international and non-governmental level. The key point of this research is the effectiveness of the gender quotas in Macedonia, especially regarding election results before and after introducing quotas, trends and interpretations.
