REPRESENTATION MATTERS: THE IMPACT OF DESCRIPTIVE WOMEN'S REPRESENTATION ON THE POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT OF WOMEN

In: Representation, Band 48, Heft 1, S. 101-114

Abstract

In a cross-country comparison of 33 European countries, we tested whether a high degree of female representation attenuates the assumed negative impact of gender on political involvement. Our multilevel analyses show positive interactive effects of female representation: the degree to which the representation of women in a given country's national parliament was descriptively adequate was positively related to women's ratings of the importance of politics and self-reported political interest. With respect to political participation, the findings are mixed. Adapted from the source document.