This article surveys quota campaigns in Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. It proposes that one or more sets of controversies influence the course and outcomes of quota reforms. These revolve around competing principles of equality, different ideas about political representation, and various beliefs about ‘gender’ and its relation to other kinds of political identities. The article identifies that the quota policies implemented and their ability to engage more women in politics depends on four varying models of political citizenship, all of which differ on their core values from individualism, universalism, social partnership, or all three. The article concludes that quota debates are shaped by political context.