Publications
- Work and Power: The Connection Between Female Labor Force Participation and Female Political Representation
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- by Iversen, Torben; Rosenbluth, Frances
- Low levels of female labor force participation contribute to female
underrepresentation in democratic polities, both by reinforcing traditional
voter attitudes toward women (a demand-side feature) and
by constraining the supply of women with professional experience
and resources who are capable of mounting credible electoral campaigns.
Female labor force participation, however, is only part of the
story. Comparative analysis suggests that electoral systems have a
strong, systematic effect on the extent to which women’s workforce
participation boosts female political representation. In candidatecentered
political systems, where seniority is an important factor in
legislative effectiveness, career interruptions for the sake of childcare
and other family work hurts female aspiring politicians more
seriously than in proportional representation (PR) systems, where
political parties control the policy platform and constituency service
is a minor consideration in the careers of candidates. In countries
with mixed electoral systems, women do better in seats elected by
PR than by single-member plurality. Within countries, women are
more likely to get elected to offices characterized by shorter tenure
and higher average levels of turnover.
- Publication Type: Published Paper
- Published Date: June 2008
- Field of Interest: Global Issues
- Iversen, Torben, and Frances Rosenbluth. "Work and Power: The Connection between Female Labor Force Participation and Female Political Representation. " Annual Review of Political Science 11 (June 2008): 479-95.
