A/79/316 institutions on the basis of proportional representation. Over time, the scope of affirmative action was expanded to include “other backward classes”, which recognized the need for broader inclusion of socially and educationally disadvantaged groups. Reservations in India have been instrumental in improving the political representation of marginalized castes. The reservation of seats for women in local governance beginning in 1992 has also significantly increased the political participation and representation of women. 27 28. In the past two decades, multiple States in all regions of the world have provided reservations or quotas in political representation to marginalized racial or ethnic groups. In New Zealand, the Electoral Act provides a proportional representation system, which resulted in an increase in reserved seats for the Māori to five seats in 1996, six seats in 1999 and seven seats in 2002. There are reserved seats for Indigenous Peoples in national parliaments or key public offices in many other countries, such as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile, Fiji, Indonesia, Jordan, Peru and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Taiwan Province of China, and reserved legislative seats for minorities in Croatia and Nepal. 28 Singapore has introduced quotas for ethnic minorities for political candidates, and Romania and Serbia have reduced the threshold for ethnic political parties to obtain seats in parliament. 29 B. Employment 29. Several States have also adopted special measures in employment, most commonly in public sector employment. These include quotas, preferential hiring between equally qualified applicants, targeted recruitment programmes, pre-employment training programmes, and mentorships. The benefits of special measures in employment can substantially reduce racial inequalities. Special measures in employment help to rectify the historical and systemic disadvantages faced by certain racial and ethnic groups, promoting fairness and justice in employment practices. They can counter unconscious and system ic biases that may disadvantage certain groups in hiring and promotions. Special measures in employment can also help to reduce income inequality and promote social mobility and break cycles of intergenerational poverty. Special measures in employment can contribute to the economic development of marginalized communities. They can also reduce stereotyping and prejudices against marginalized racial and ethnic groups, improve workplace culture, and reduce discrimination in the workplace. This, in turn, can contribute to broader social cohesion and harmony. Like in political representation, special measures in employment can improve decision -making, with diverse teams and workplaces leading to innovative solutions and new approaches to challenges that take into consideration a variety of perspectives. This is particularly important in the public sector, especially in the development of policies affecting marginalized racial or ethnic groups. 30. For example, there are quotas based on ethnicity in public sector employment and public procurement in Burundi, Nigeria, Pakistan and Viet Nam, racial quotas in Brazil, Costa Rica and Uruguay, non-quota measures for racial groups in Ecuador, __________________ 27 28 29 24-15073 United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN -Women), “India passes law to reserve seats for women legislators”, 4 October 2023. Available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2023/10/india-passes-law-to-reserveseats-for-women-legislators. Schotte, Gisselquist and Leone, Does Affirmative Action Address Ethnic Inequality?, pp. 13 and 16. Ibid., p. 16. 11/24