Who stands in the way of women? Open vs. closed lists and candidate gender in Estonia

Abstract

The literature on women's descriptive representation has looked at the debate on open and closed lists as a choice between electoral systems. This article instead focuses on whether voters or the parties are biased against female candidates. Using data from six Estonian elections, the article finds that voters are not consistently biased against female candidates and open lists do not necessarily decrease women's representation. However, unknown and non-incumbent female candidates fare significantly worse than similar men. The analysis also shows that parties do not place women in electable positions on closed lists, and closed lists do not improve women's representation.Keywords: candidate gender; voter preference; political parties; candidate selection; electoral systems; Estonia IntroductionIn most countries, women are far less likely to hold elected office than men, and there has been virtually no change in the gender composition of parliaments in some countries since the 1970s. This is the case despite advances made in women's education, employment rates, and substantial changes in public attitudes about female leadership. What or who is still standing in the way of electing women to office? This article looks at the debate on the effect of closed and open lists on women's representation, an issue that ultimately comes down to the question of whether political parties or voters disadvantage female candidates. While previous research in this area has tested theories about list types at the country level, this article reassesses the accuracy of this theory at the individual level, that is, at the level of the actual causal mechanism.I use data from six parliamentary elections in Estonia between 1992 and 2011. The Estonian case is insightful for many reasons. First, during the 20-year span, the electoral system has largely remained unchanged and simultaneously combines both closed and open lists. The uniqueness of the system allows us to test the effect of list types on women's election while holding everything pertaining to each election constant. Second, the availability of detailed party and candidate data permits the testing of the theories at the level of the mechanism rather than observing a relationship at the country level. Third, previous research on individual-level data has focused on candidate-centred systems -mainly single member districts (SMD), but also single transferable vote (STV) -and analysed only a single point in time. The Estonian data provide the opportunity to test the effect of gender on votes, election chances and list position in a party-centred proportional system over a 20-year period.

The Effect of Electing Women on Future Female Candidate Selection Patterns: Findings from a Regression Discontinuity Design

“…The results reported by McGregor et al speak in favor of this explanation, as they indicate that “[f]emale candidates perform very well in wards with a female incumbent candidate, but men and women are equally likely to support female candidates in these settings” (2017, 142). Similar results are reported by Allik (2015) for the case of Estonia.…”

Ineffective and Counterproductive? The Impact of Gender Quotas in Open-List Proportional Representation Systems

“…One aspect that is frequently discussed as a potential source of gender discrimination is the electoral system (see, e.g., Fortin-Rittberger and Eder 2013; Fortin-Rittberger and Rittberger 2014; Roberts, Seawright, and Cyr 2013; Schwindt-Bayer, Malecki, and Crisp 2010; Thames and Williams 2010; Valdini 2012; Vengroff, Nyiria, and Fugiero 2003). In particular, it has been shown how electoral systems that allow voters to cast preferential votes for individual candidates, such as open-list proportional representation (PR) systems, impact women's political representation (e.g., Allik 2015; Golder et al 2017; Górecki and Kukołowicz 2014; Holli and Wass 2010; Jankowski and Marcinkiewicz 2016; Kukołowicz 2013; Matland 1994; McElroy and Marsh 2010).…”

Quotas and ballots: The impact of positive action policies on women's representation in Indonesia

“…widely debated without reaching scholarly consensus (Allik, 2015;Kunovich, 2012;Schmidt, 2009). In Indonesia, the introduction of an open-list voting system placed greater emphasis on a candidate's campaign and his or her ability to raise funds, placing more financial pressure on women candidates who tend to have less access than men to the clientelistic networks that influence candidate selection and candidate position on the party ticket as well as to the resources needed to engage in the common practice of vote buying.…”