2015/01/22 by Fabrizio Gilardi · 197 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Computer science #Demographic economics #Economics #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #General election #Law #Political Influence and Corporate Strategies #Political science #Politics #Primary election #Representation (politics) #Set (abstract data type) #Suffrage
paper · doi:10.1111/ajps.12155
published in American Journal of Political Science 59(4), 957-970 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2015/01/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
This article investigates the supply side of women's political representation by focusing on how the election of female politicians affects the motivation of women to run for office in other units. The analysis relies on an original data set of over 1,500 municipal elections in Switzerland, starting with the first election after the introduction of women's suffrage. In the first election in which women could participate, the election of a woman in a given municipality was associated in the next election with an additional female candidate in 10% of its neighbors. The relationship decreases over time, fades away after 16 years, and is driven primarily by new female candidates in units where no female incumbents are running for reelection. These findings suggest that role models are important for improving women's representation, but only in its early stages. This conclusion could be relevant for understanding the political representation of other underrepresented groups.