The Impact of Women in Parliament

O’Brien and Piscopo examine how increases in the number of female parliamentarians shape three outcomes: policies and policymaking, public opinion, and the legislature as a workplace. Reviewing the literature, the authors conclude that female representatives indeed diversify legislative agendas, especially regarding women and other vulnerable groups. Women’s presence also erodes negative perceptions about women as political leaders, both among the public and among politicians. However, O’Brien and Piscopo also find that women’s presence meets resistance, particularly because parliaments’ internal cultures and leadership structures remain male-dominated. Gender quotas mediate all these trends: Quotas raise the number of female parliamentarians and accelerate political and social change but may also provoke backlash. The authors conclude by calling for more research on this latter trend.