More equal than different? Gender and legislative turnover in the European Parliament and west European legislatures

Athanassios Gouglas, Paolo Marzi, Bart Maddens, Marleen Brans and Luca Verzichelli
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Athanassios Gouglas: School of Education and Social Sciences, 6413University of the West of Scotland, London, UK
Paolo Marzi: Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, 9313University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Bart Maddens: Public Governance Institute, 26657KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Marleen Brans: Public Governance Institute, 26657KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Luca Verzichelli: Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences, 9313University of Siena, Siena, Italy

European Union Politics, 2025, vol. 26, issue 1, 167-184

Abstract: The article investigates incumbent exit rates of women and men parliamentarians in the national chambers and European Parliament delegations of eight West European countries after elections. Relying on original data, the article uses a multi-level model to analyse the fixed effects of gender, type of delegation, and the politico-institutional context on incumbent exit rates, while also assessing random effects produced at the country level. The study finds that incumbent exit rate of men is significantly higher than women's. However, this result is significant in the European Parliament, not national legislature delegations. Additionally, we find that men are pushed towards the exit by gender quotas and proportional electoral systems. Finally, our findings show different dynamics with respect to countries and types of delegation, thus expanding our understanding of the gendered implications of political careers and institutional frameworks across different parliamentary contexts in Western Europe.

Keywords: Gender equality; legislative careers; parliamentary turnover; representation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:26:y:2025:i:1:p:167-184

DOI: 10.1177/14651165241299117

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