Female Leaders and the Representation of Women in Government

Niklas Potrafke, Luisa Dörr, Klaus Gründler, Tuuli Tähtinen () and Luisa Dörr ()

No 11851, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Does electing female politicians increase women’s political representation? Using a difference-in-differences design on a comprehensive cross-national dataset, we find that the first election of a female incumbent systematically increases the share of women in government. To address selection concerns, we apply the synthetic control method to a unique case of exogenous government change: the appointment of Germany’s first female state prime minister in 1993 — without a state election. Our findings provide causal evidence that her entry led to a lasting rise in women’s political representation, highlighting how even one influential woman can help others ascend to high political office.

Keywords: political leaders; gender gap in politics; political participation; political representation; gender composition. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen and nep-lab
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11851

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