"I think women candidates have a good chance for success in this year's Senate election, and that is caused to a certain extent by the public's general disillusionment with politics and the expectation that women can bring something new and better," says Radek Špicar, former deputy prime minister for the economy, who has lectured on women in power positions.

Of the 81 Senate seats, 10 are held by women. Thirty members of the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies are women.

There are signs that those numbers might improve, more women are running for the Senate than in past years.

In the June elections, the then-ruling Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) put only one woman on its ticket. The party has six running for Senate. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has seven, and a new party, Politika 21, has six, including celebrities Pavla Topolánková, the wife of ODS leader and Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, and TV journalist Mirka Čejková.

Candidates point to ongoing government deadlock after the June elections delivered a split Chamber of Deputies.

Lawmakers have yet to get a government going. What many women suggest, though don't always say, is that male egos are a reason why.

"You can see the current negotiations of politicians, how tough they are and how difficult it is for them to solve anything," says Džamila Stehlíková, who is running in the Chomutov region as a member of the Green Party. "I think women see the interests of society first."

Marie Benešová, sacked as supreme state attorney last year after battling with Justice Minister Pavel Němec, is running as a Social Democrat in the same region. Benešová says that she realized if she wanted things to change in government — she cited her region's high unemployment and corruption — she would have to do something herself.

"Women have stopped being afraid, and have become courageous," she says.

Eliška Hašková-Collidge, a Civic Democrat in the Domažlice region, says she's "not a feminist" but that a goal of her candidacy is to strengthen women's role in politics.

"They are up to the challenge, and their sensitivity, dedication, wisdom, responsibility and resilience are untapped resources that our country can no longer afford to ignore."

A look across Europe shows just how far Czech women have to go to gain equal footing in politics. Thirty-eight percent of Norway's parliament is female. In Sweden, it's 45 percent.

"I hope that this will become more of a trend," says Alena Králíková, director of the Gender Studies center in Prague. "[Czech political] parties are more interested in programs [relating to women] like family issues, and voters want women candidates more now."