Reconsidering Gender Gaps in State Legislatures: The Effects of Women's Lobbying

• In Event: Confronting Patriarchy in Government Institutions and Policies

Abstract

Considerable research suggests that electing more women in U.S. state legislatures makes a difference for female constituents. That said, scholars also find that linkages between women's descriptive and substantive representation are conditional rather than absolute. While studies on the conditional linkages between women’s descriptive and substantive representation have largely focused on party, district, and institutional characteristics, little is understood about the influence of women’s organizations and lobbying. Similarly, where scholars often focus on female legislative behavior to identify gender gaps between descriptive and non-descriptive representatives, few scholars explore the conditions under which men become more active on women's issues in a legislature. This paper is concerned with both missing pieces in the literature, and investigates how lobbying by women's groups can influence male and female legislators differently. Using data on campaign contributions between 2000 and 2016 across 26 states, I examine how changes in support from women's groups can influence changes in women's issue bill introduction by state legislators. I explore how women are more likely overall to introduce women’s issue legislation regardless of whether they receive campaign contributions from women’s groups. I then identify how men in office are uniquely triggered towards increased activity on women’s issues when targeted by women's group campaign contributions, narrowing observable gender gaps while increasing women’s representation overall. This research lends critical insight to scholars as well as women's issue activists, shedding light on how women's organizations can increase substantive representation even in states where the number of women in office remains stagnant.

Author

• Elizabeth Wiener, Emory University