Female Leaders and the Representation of Women in Government

Niklas Potrafke, Luisa Dörr, Klaus Gründler, Tuuli Tähtinen () and Luisa Dörr ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: 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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