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Do public attitudes on gender equality affect candidate selection in proportional representation systems? Evidence from European Parliament elections

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Maarja LuhisteORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2024. A shift in public attitudes towards gender equality may explain improvements we have witnessed in women’s descriptive representation. However, existing studies rely on cross-sectional comparisons, likely beset with confounding problems. To examine the causal effect of public attitudes on candidate selection, we draw on data from more than 10,000 candidacies across four European Parliament elections (1999–2014). Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compare nomination decisions in countries with major attitude changes between elections to those in the control group. We find no evidence that shifts towards more egalitarian gender attitudes lead to an increase in women candidates, neither overall nor in subgroups by electoral system or socio-cultural party positions. The heterogeneity of effects across time and space appears to be a plausible explanation for our findings.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Däubler T, Lühiste M, Chiru M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: European Union Politics

Year: 2024

Pages: Epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 22/12/2024

Acceptance date: 02/04/2018

Date deposited: 11/10/2024

ISSN (print): 1465-1165

ISSN (electronic): 1741-2757

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165241299111

DOI: 10.1177/14651165241299111

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