Cosponsorship Diversity and Women's Representation in State Legislatures

• In Event: Playing Nicely with Others?: Gender, Cooperation, and Collaboration

Abstract

Increasing the diversity of women’s representation in state legislatures is expected to promote inclusive perspectives enhancing the substantive representation of women and their interests. Although female legislators have consistently acted to bring awareness to “women’s issues,” it is not clear whether women legislators have as much legislative success as men in the lawmaking process. I test the hypothesis that male legislators’ support of female sponsored legislation, in particular, helps female legislators overcome barriers in the legislative process, enhancing their probability of success and the substantive impact of their policies. In contrast to previous research, initial results suggest that the members who sign on in support of a bill—“cosponsors”—indeed affects legislative success. By bringing attention to the effect of cosponsors’ race and gender, I contribute unique insights about how women representatives of all races and ethnicities may more effectively promote the interests of underrepresented groups in society, in turn increasing the efficacy of representative democracy.

Author

• Hannah Elizabeth McVeigh, University of Minnesota--Twin Cities