Since women representation in Parliament passes through women representation on electoral lists, candidate selection constitutes a central aspect of this general issue. Candidate selection processes vary a lot from one party to the other. The literature suggests that some features of this process may be in favour or in disfavour of female candidates, namely the degree of inclusiveness and centralisation of selectorates and the degree of complexity and institutionalisation of selection procedures. This paper focuses on the relations between these features of candidate selection and gender. Despite strong mandatory quotas valid for all political parties in Belgium, Belgian political parties still differ in terms of women's presence on their lists and in the Parliament. The paper analyses these variations on candidate selection mode and relates it to parties’ situation in 2007 towards women at elections. The aim is to explain why some parties score better than others in terms of women's presence in their ranks, by sketching the general picture of a women-friendly candidate selection process. The research relies on data from party statutes and rules, as well as from interviews conducted among key Belgian politicians.