Political Party Characteristics and Women’s Representation: The Case of the European Parliament

Abstract

Why do some political parties have a higher share of elected women? Analysing all parties in the European Parliament (EP) from 1979–2019, we test the effect of five party characteristics (their ideology, age, size, female leadership, and intra-party gender quotas) on their share of female Members (MEPs). We find a higher share of female MEPs in green, liberal and leftist parties and in parties with a female leader. Party gender quotas increase the likelihood to have at least one female MEP.