Women Get the Job Done: Differences in Constituent Communication from Female and Male Lawmakers

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-29-2023

Abstract

This article advances and tests an original theory of a feminine homestyle to explain how female legislators develop relationships with constituents that both mitigate the potential for gendered biases and fulfill the communal goals that motivate women to run for political office. We use an original audit study that tests legislator responsiveness to direct email communication. We show that female lawmakers are more responsive to constituent communication and more likely to display compassion and empathy in responses compared with male legislators; but we also find important differences in women's responsiveness across the race and ethnicity. Further, we find that responsive female lawmakers can change the behaviors of their male counterparts by creating stronger norms of responsiveness within legislative institutions. Our findings have important downstream implications for democratic accountability among voters and illustrate how female lawmakers substantively represent through direct communication with constituents.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Politics and Gender

First Page

1110

Last Page

1133

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS