Electoral Gender Quotas and Democratic Legitimacy

• In Event: Gender Quotas, Women’s Political Participation, and Leadership

Abstract

In a survey experiment in the United States, we documented that women’s equal presence legitimizing political decision-making processes and outcomes (Clayton, O’Brien & Piscopo 2019). Extending this line of inquiry, we probe two research questions. First, does women’s equal presence also confer legitimacy to political decision-making processes when women are elected through gender quotas? To address this question, we compare the legitimacy-conferring effects of women elected with and without quotas (“quota-elected women” compared to “non-quota-elected women”) to political decision-making bodies comprised of only men. Second, how does the presence and strength of the country’s current quota policy moderate the relationship between quotas, women’s presence, and citizens’ legitimacy beliefs? To address this question, we compare whether and to what extent both quota-elected and non-quota-elected women confer legitimacy to decision-making processes (relative to all-male groups) across eight countries with varying levels of quota adoption and strength in national politics. Our initial results support our expectations. We find that relative to all-male groups, quota-elected women confer legitimacy to political decision-making processes, but not to same extent as non-quota elected women. We find that quota-elected women confer more legitimacy in countries in which quota policies are strongest.

Authors

• Amanda Clayton, Vanderbilt University

• Diana Z. O'Brien, Rice University

• Jennifer M. Piscopo, Occidental College