PARITY - A MALE VIEW

This paper presents the view of a man active in organizations which have advocated parity for the past eight years (Arc-en-Ciel, Les Verts). First, the author examines the possible aims of parity. It could strive to reduce men-women inequalities or, complementarily, to assert the gender difference within political equality (''mixedness''). This debate is quite irrelevant to the essentialism controversy. Second, the instruments of parity are reviewed: mere goodwill is ineffectual, especially with respect to the selection of candidates, but simple, effective and legitimate voting systems do exist. They have substantially transformed the actual political relations between the sexes in the French Green movement and have set an example.