Abstract
Women remain under-represented in political institutions. To what extent does under-representation of women impact their performance, and the amount influence they have within political institutions? I argue that women have a harder time getting (s)elected because of gender-based selection bias and that those women who are (s)elected perform, on average, better than their male counterparts. Yet, women have less influence because gender-based selection bias may also exist within the institutions to which women have been (s)elected to serve. I empirically assess my arguments in the context of the Court of Justice of the European Union. I find that women perform on average better than their male counterparts. Despite this, my results also reveal that female judges are the assigned judicial ”housework,” while male judges handle groundbreaking cases, resulting in a gender gap in influence.This suggests that even after breaking the glass ceiling, gender-based selection bias continues to undermine women.
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Louisa Boulaziz
Beyond the glass ceiling, more 'housework'? Womens' work assignment, performance and influence in political institutions
The Journal of Politics, 2025