Politics | Gender Lab

From Voters to Politicians: The Vanishing Gender Gap in Preferences

Ximena Calo, Paola Profeta, Riccardo Puglisi and Simona Scabrosetti

In a representative democracy, the extent to which gender-specific policy preferences are transmitted through the stages of political selection is relevant for assessing the substantive quality of representation. Using cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Comparative Candidate Survey (CCS), we explore gender gaps in policy preferences among individuals, political candidates, and elected officials. We find that, while gender gaps in policy preferences are substantial, they shrink among candidates and become even less pronounced among elected officials. The dominant pattern is one of convergence, with female politicians aligned with male positions. Yet, gender gaps among politicians persist on identity-related issues, such as same-sex rights. These patterns hold irrespective of political ideology.

Who cares about childcare? Covid-19 and gender differences in local public spending

Alda Marchese, Paola Profeta and Giulia Savio

International Tax and Public (2025)

Beyond the Party Push: Gender Differences in Voters’ Persuasion

Giulia Savio - Univeristy of Turin, AXA Research Lab on Gender Equality, Università Bocconi

European Journal of Political Economy (2024)

This paper suggests a new channel to explain female disadvantage in electoral success related to politicians’ ability to attract voters from opponent parties in open-list electoral systems.

While female and male politicians are equally likely to get support from their party's supporters, male politicians are more successful in persuading voters from competing parties.

Motivated by several mechanisms, these findings bring salient policy implications concerning the impact of electoral systems on female representation.

Electoral Rules, Women's Representation and the Quality of Politicians

P. Profeta, E. Woodhouse

Comparative Political Studies (2022)

Gender differences in political budget cycles

P. Profeta with C. Accettura

Women, Local Public Finance and Fiscal Adjustment

Alessandra Casarico, Salvatore Lattanzio, Paola Profeta

European Journal of Political Economy (2019)