Do gender quotas increase political knowledge?
Venturini, Giulia (2024) Do gender quotas increase political knowledge? European Journal of Political Research. ISSN 0304-4130 (https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12736)
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Abstract
Do gender quotas increase political knowledge? While some studies suggest that quotas can positively impact women's political engagement and participation, others find null or negative effects. This paper focuses on Western Europe and argues that the implementation of quotas serves as an attention and consciousness‐raising event, potentially enhancing awareness of the political sphere. To investigate this, I propose a novel research design that capitalizes on the (quasi) exogenous shock resulting from the introduction of gender quotas. By influencing symbolic representation, quotas may enhance women's sense of empowerment, equality and willingness to engage in politics. Furthermore, the impact is expected to be more pronounced among younger women due to the heightened political socialization experienced during adolescence. Thus, the institutional change brought about by quotas is anticipated to particularly boost political knowledge among (younger) women and subsequently narrow the gender gap. To examine this hypothesis, I analyse data from 1992 to 2018 from 12 countries, of which six implemented gender quotas. Using a hierarchical Bayesian model, I assess respondents' answers to knowledge questions. The findings indicate that the introduction of gender quotas in parliamentary systems has a positive effect on reducing the gender gap in political knowledge among younger individuals, while the effects are statistically insignificant for older citizens.
ORCID iDs
Venturini, Giulia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4787-3867;-
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Item type: Article ID code: 90754 Dates: DateEvent29 October 2024Published29 October 2024Published Online27 August 2024AcceptedSubjects: Political Science > Political science (General)
Social Sciences > The family. Marriage. WomenDepartment: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 03 Oct 2024 08:37 Last modified: 02 Nov 2024 02:05 Related URLs: URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/90754