At the state level, women held an average of 25.6% of seats in the unicameral congresses in 2013, which rose to 38% in 2016. Quotas are also symbolically important in that they help alter negative perceptions of women in power and increase their electability. In bodies which have not taken special temporary measures or affirmative action - which include the executive, the 13 state governments still to adopt parity requirements in their municipal councils, and the judiciary- wide gender gaps persist in women’s representation.