Does Women's Political Presence Matter?

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Does Women's Political Presence Matter? Does Women’s Political Presence Matter? Examining the Effects of Descriptive Representation on Symbolic Representation in Uruguay Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series March 24, 2017 Does Women’s Political Presence Matter? Examining the Effects of Descriptive Representation on Symbolic Representation in Uruguay Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series Magda Hinojosa Kim Fridkin Miki Kittilson Arizona State University March 24, 2017 Disclaimer: This report is made possible with support from the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Arizona State University and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID; the United States government; or the Democracy Fellows and Grants Program implementer, IIE. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 2 A. Women’s Representation in Uruguay, Pre-2014 Elections ........................................................3 B. Women’s Descriptive Representation in Parliament, Post-2014 Elections .................................4 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 5 A. The Nature of Representation ................................................................................................5 B. Effects of Gender Quotas on Representation ...........................................................................7 RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................................................................................................... 9 A. Research Methodology ..........................................................................................................9 B. Hypotheses .......................................................................................................................... 11 RESEARCH RESULTS ................................................................................................................... 13 A. Results from the Panel Survey .............................................................................................. 13 B. Results of the Content Analyses ............................................................................................ 22 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 25 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 28 APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONS ................................................................................................ 34 MESSAGE FROM THE DRG CENTER ACTING DIRECTOR USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance is pleased to share “Does Women’s Political Presence Matter? Examining the Effects of Descriptive Representation on Symbolic Representation in Uruguay.” This publication was produced by USAID in partnership with Arizona State University and the Institute of International Education as part of the Research and Innovation Grants Working Papers Series. The Strategy on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance1 reaffirmed USAID’s commitment to “generate, analyze, and disseminate rigorous, systematic, and publicly accessible evidence in all aspects of DRG policy, strategy and program development, implementation, and evaluation.” This paper, along with the others contained in the series, make a valuable contribution to advancing this commitment to learning and evidence-based programming. This series is part of USAID’s Learning Agenda for the DRG Sector, a dynamic collection of research questions that serve to guide the DRG Center’s and USAID field missions’ analytical efforts. USAID seeks to inform strategic planning and project design efforts with the very best theory, evidence, and practical guidance. Through these efforts, the Learning Agenda is contributing to USAID’s objective to support the establishment and consolidation of inclusive and accountable democracies to advance freedom, dignity, and development. The research presented in this paper provides useful insights into how increasing women’s descriptive representation within a legislature affects citizens’ interest and engagement in the political process, or their symbolic representation. Uruguay’s first quota law was implemented in the 2014 elections, resulting in significant increases in the number of women serving in both houses of Uruguay’s Parliament. Surveying citizens before and after the elections, the research team found strong evidence that increases in women’s descriptive representation had a positive effect on citizens’ symbolic representation, and that this effect was stronger for women than for men. Before election day, women were significantly less likely than men to say they were interested in politics, less likely to state that they understood political issues in Uruguay, and less likely to report having trust in elections; after election day, these differences disappeared and women were as likely as men to be interested in politics, understand current political issues, and trust the electoral process. I hope you find this research enlightening and helpful. As the DRG Center’s Learning Agenda progresses, we will continue our effort to bring forward the latest in relevant social science research to important constituencies for our work, particularly our DRG cadre and implementing partners, but also others. I invite you to stay involved as this enriching, timely, and important work proceeds. Madeline Williams, Acting Director Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance US Agency for International Development 1 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID%20DRG_%20final%20final%206- 24%203%20(1).pdf EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Uruguay, the push to adopt gender quotas began in the late 1980s, but it was not until 2009—long after most neighboring countries had adopted quotas—that a gender quota law was passed; it was not implemented until the 2014 elections. The law stipulates that women must be represented in every third spot throughout the entire candidate list or in the first 15 positions on the list. The law’s placement mandate and sanctions for non-compliance, within a closed list proportional representation system, guaranteed that the 2014 elections would lead to an increase in the number of women in Parliament. And, with the election, women’s presence in the Chamber of Senators doubled from 13.3% to 26.7% and increased from 15.2% to 18.2% in the Chamber of Representatives. Women’s presence in both Chambers grew further after the election, due to substitutions: by February 2016, women occupied 33.3% of the seats in the Chamber of Senators and 20.2% in the Chamber of Representatives. The lag time between the passage of the law in 2009 and its implementation in 2014, combined with the guarantee that the law would increase women’s descriptive representation, or the number of women in legislative office, provided an ideal setting for a natural experiment on how an increase in women’s descriptive representation affected all citizens’ interest and engagement in the political process, or their symbolic representation. Through a Research and Innovation Grant funded by USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, an Arizona State University (ASU) research team capitalized on this opportunity, conducting panel surveys just before and right after the 2014 elections and analyzing newspapers to study the immediate effects of women’s increased descriptive representation on citizens’ symbolic representation. Due to financial constraints, both survey waves were conducted solely in Montevideo, the first wave face-to-face and the second wave over the telephone. The team found strong evidence that increases in women’s descriptive representation had a positive effect on citizens’ symbolic representation—even controlling for age, education, political ideology, overall level of political knowledge, tendency to engage in political discussion, and level of attention to the news—and that this effect was stronger for women than for men: . Before election day, women were less likely than men to state they were interested in politics; after election day, this gender gap disappeared. Before election day, women were less likely than men to state they understood political issues in Uruguay; after election day, this gender gap disappeared. Before election day, women were less likely than men to report having trust in elections; after election day, this gender gap disappeared. Before election day, women were 10% more likely than men to think women’s representation in Parliament was too low and less likely to think the level of representation was just right; after election day, the gender gap disappeared. Before election day, only 10% of respondents could identify the quota law; after election day, this number increased to 15%. In addition, before election day, men were more likely than women to be able to identify the law; after election day, the gender gap disappeared. Arizona State University USAID/DCHA/DRG Working Papers Series 1 INTRODUCTION The push to adopt gender quotas in Uruguay began in the late 1980s, stemming from women’s
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