#12034. Are Women Less Effective at Passing Bills? Exploring the Direct and Indirect Effects of Gender

November 2026publication date
Proposal available till 07-06-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript0 $

The title of the journal is available only for the authors who have already paid for
Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
Places in the authors’ list:
place 1place 2place 3place 4
FreeFreeFreeFree
2350 $1200 $1050 $900 $
Contract №12034.1 Contract №12034.2 Contract №12034.3 Contract №12034.4
1 place - free (for sale)
2 place - free (for sale)
3 place - free (for sale)
4 place - free (for sale)

Abstract:
Are women as effective as men at passing legislation? What are the institutional pathways through which gender affects bill approval? I argue that gender does not have a direct effect on a legislator’s ability to gain legislative approval. Instead, women are marginalized in their access to influential institutional positions—committee leadership positions, influential committee assignment, and bill content—which may have consequences for bill approval. I examine these relationships using causal mediation analysis on bill data. I do not find a direct effect of gender on bill approval. Instead, women are negatively affected by their lack of access to committee leadership positions. While women do not experience legislative consequences directly, by virtue of being women, they do face indirect consequences through the positions they receive. This article makes important methodological and substantive contributions to understanding relationships between gender and legislative outcomes.
Keywords:
Gender; Latin America; legislatures; representation

Contacts :
0