Underneath the Surface: Unpacking Gendered Dynamics in Legislative Oversight in Italian Municipalities

Abstract

A growing strand of research investigates how women behave in office. While previous studies have explored women's engagement in policy-making and representation, less is known about their engagement in legislative oversight, particularly at the local level, a critical area for female representation. This paper adapts existing theories to the local context, presenting two opposing arguments: on the one hand, women may engage more actively in legislative oversight; on the other, traditional gender norms may hinder their effectiveness as legislators. We also hypothesize that women's oversight engagement may depend on the number of female councillors present. Using novel survey data from Italian municipal councillors, our findings indicate that women engage less frequently than men in legislative oversight. Additionally, as the share of female councillors increases, individual female councillors become less likely to engage in oversight activities, likely due to backlash from male colleagues seeking to reassert dominance as women's representation grows.