Gender, Political Careers, and Electoral Systems

• In Event: Representational and Distributional Consequences of Electoral Systems (Virtual)

Abstract

How can electoral institutions influence the difference in political careers between men and women? I argue that in proportional representation (PR) systems, the gender gap depends on the degree of candidate-centredness in the electoral system: in closed-list PR systems, women may be more shielded from voters' negative biases (compared to open-list PR systems). I provide empirical support for this theory by analysing heterogeneous effects of winning on future political careers in municipal elections in Norway and Spain. I find that in Norway (open-list), women face a diminished incumbency advantage in winning again compared to men. This disparity is driven by right-wing voters awarding a smaller boost in personal votes to elected female candidates. In Spain, I find no meaningful gender gap in incumbency effects; furthermore, the existence of a legal gender quota has no effect on womens' probability of running again or winning again. I offer additional evidence suggesting that these findings are not driven by country-level specifics. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that more party-centred electoral systems can be successful in mitigating women's career disadvantages in politics.

Author

• Tobias Nowacki, Stanford University