Tunisia’s 10-year experiment as a representative democracy (from democratic consolidation in 2011 to its truncation in 2021) with gender parity policies in place is notable for the success rates of women serving as Deputies in Parliament. Consistent with previous findings that gender parity policies are critical for increasing women’s political participation, my research confirms that Tunisian women have outperformed other nations in gender representation (including established democracies in like the United States). Extant literature fails to address women’s political representation in Tunisia in a comprehensive way from the perspective of women participants. My study addresses this gap and provides needed analysis of how women actually experience representation. Applying a mixed methods approach, I contextualize statistical data on women in legislatures worldwide with ethnography and phenomenological data collection I conducted in Tunisia during the summer of 2021. This inductive research project provides a record of Tunisian women’s lived experiences with representation during Tunisia’s democratic period and examines how specific policies such as Decree Number 35 and Article 46 of the 2014 Constitution have impacted Tunisian women’s access to political representation. Data from my 2021 interviews reveal that Tunisian women are highly engaged in politics and motivated to participate in meaningful ways such as holding leadership positions in the Parliament; yet a common theme in their individual experiences is that there are significant barriers to entry, not only for obtaining parliamentary seats, but for achieving the leadership roles they seek once seated. Another theme is the questioning of the efficacy of Article 46 and Decree Number 35 following the downturn in the percent of women Deputies from 33% seated in 2014 elections to 25% in 2019. A concurrent change in Tunisia’s political landscape was increased political atomization, generating a greater number of parties, a development that combined with Tunisia’s “zipper” style parity policy contributed to the decline in women Deputies. These findings have the potential to shape Tunisia’s policy approach toward improving women’s access to political representation by providing an assessment of gender quota efficacy both in terms of quantitative outcomes for diversifying legislatures, and qualitative outcomes such as legislative efficacy and policy quality. Tunisia’s unique combination of post-Arab Spring democratic achievement and longstanding emphasis on women’s rights makes it a compelling case study to further our understanding of gender parity in representative politics – nationally, regionally, and in the global context.