Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, I find little concrete support that women’s presence in a legislature alone makes a substantial difference for the passage of meaningful legislation related to women’s issues. Often, the success of female representatives in championing female causes depends on what allies or other institutions, if any, they can rely on for support in the government. Case study analysis leads to the conclusion that other mechanisms — largely leftist political parties, well-supported and progressive government agencies focused on women’s affairs, and women’s movements and caucuses — greatly affect the number of laws that are passed surrounding women’s issues. Moreover, the amount of legislation regarding women’s issues may be greatly influenced by a government’s preoccupation with other issues, such as an economic crisis, by partisan gridlock paralyzing the legislature, or by election campaigns attempting to appeal to female voters.
As previously stated, the largest takeaway from individual case study analysis of the effects of female representation is that no cross-country generalization is possible — the number of laws and executive orders related to women’s issues depends very much on the context of each country during the given year. In Argentina, the nation with the highest female
representation, the early adoption of quota laws and the cross-party alliance of women have allowed women to enter the legislature and subsequently work toward advancing women’s rights. However, even with near gender parity in the Argentine legislature, factors unrelated to descriptive representation, such as an economic crisis, could hinder legislation related to
women’s issues, or prompt an increase in easier-to-pass marginal laws. Meanwhile in Uruguay, the nation with the lowest percentage of women in the legislature, a strong women’s caucus and support from the Frente Amplio, a leftist party that consistently pushed for women’s rights, allows women to pass gender-focused laws that are meaningful despite a lack of descriptive representation for women. In Costa Rica and Chile, party politics and the strength of the social democratic, leftist party arguably played the largest role in the advancement of women’s issues. Additionally, as seen in the case of Chile, a pro-feminist female leader most likely led to the increase in laws related to women’s issues. Finally, in the case of the Dominican Republic, an unproductive legislature hinders all political productivity — not just legislation related to
women’s issues. Aside from an unproductive legislature, the lack of a women’s caucus may also encumber female legislators’ ability to pass legislation related to women’s issues. Clearly, there is no one mechanism that impacts the amount of legislation passed related to women’s issues. And conversely, simply electing female representatives does not automatically bolster the amount of pro-female laws that are passed. Ultimately, descriptive representation may not be vital for advancing women’s interests through legislation.
Future Research
Considering the lack of data on legislation proposed by female legislators, or on
legislation proposed but not passed by the legislature, I cannot prove the following speculations with empirical data. Even still, I speculate that having more women in Latin American
legislatures does increase the extent to which women’s issues are brought up or discussed, and that despite the minimal impacts of descriptive representation, there are still links between descriptive and substantive representation.
It is possible that women in legislatures do act as substantive representatives for women, and put pressure on other legislators for more activity surrounding women’s rights and gender equality. However, without a large enough mass of female legislators, most proposals for reform or progress regarding women’s issues do not pass or even receive a vote. What female legislators
are able to propose and pass is less significant, symbolic legislation pertaining to women. More in-depth research is needed to determine if female legislators are in fact engaging in “critical acts,” even if their acts are unsuccessful. Further research could be conducted to determine the number of bills that female legislators introduce related to women’s issues, and the number of pro-women bills that fail before reaching a vote. Additionally, further qualitative research could be done to determine the extent to which female legislators feel marginalized within the
legislature, or feel they must shy away from focusing their legislative aims solely on women’s issues, as well as the extent to which they feel compelled to substantively represent other women. Overall, more research is required to determine a firm link between descriptive and substantive representation in Latin America.
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