2021/07/01 by Jennifer M. Piscopo, Magda Hinojosa, Gwynn Thomas +1 · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Gender Politics and Representation #Electoral Systems and Political Participation
paper · doi:10.1177/00104140211024300
openalex publication_date 2021/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
We examine women’s access to campaign resources using data from all 960 candidates competing in Chile’s 2017 legislative elections. Even when controlling for district characteristics, women candidates receive less money in party transfers, bank loans, and donations; place fewer personal funds in their campaigns; and have fewer resources overall. However, previous experience and incumbency narrow the gap. When women are newcomers, gender serves as an important cue about candidate quality and funders default to favoring men. Our results lend credence to practitioners’ claims that money disadvantages women candidates in democracies, but focuses attention on the disadvantage faced by women newcomers. Moreover, this gender gap in campaign funding exists despite a gendered electoral financing scheme designed to make political actors more likely to invest in women’s campaigns. While increasingly popular among development experts, our research suggests such schemes might be insufficient for equalizing campaign funding between men and women.