Replication Data for: Public Perceptions of Women’s Inclusion and Feelings of Political Efficacy

Theoretical work argues that citizens gain important symbolic benefits when they are represented by gender-inclusive institutions. Despite the centrality of this claim in the literature, empirical evidence is mixed. In this article, I argue that these mixed findings are -- in part -- because many Americans hold beliefs about women's inclusion that are out of step with reality. Leveraging variation in survey respondents' beliefs about women's representation, I examine how these perceptions influence attitudes towards Congress and state legislatures. In both cases, I find that believing women are included is associated with higher levels of efficacy among both men and women. Using panel data, I then show that when citizens’ underestimations (overestimations) are corrected, their levels of efficacy increase (decrease), shedding further light on this relationship. The findings presented in this research add new theoretical insights into when, and how, Americans consider descriptive representation when evaluating the institutions that represent them.

已有理论研究指出，当民众由性别包容的代议机构代表时，能够获得重要的象征收益。尽管这一主张在相关研究文献中处于核心地位，但对应的实证证据却莫衷一是。本文认为，这些结论不一的研究发现，部分原因在于许多美国人对女性参政包容性的认知与现实情况并不相符。本研究借助受访者对女性代议情况的认知差异，探讨这类感知如何影响民众对美国国会与州议会的态度。两类分析均发现，无论男性还是女性，只要认为女性已被纳入代议体系，其政治效能感都会更高。随后，本研究利用面板数据证实，当民众对女性代议情况的低估（高估）得到纠正后，其政治效能感会相应提升（下降），进一步厘清了这一关联机制。本研究的发现为厘清美国人在评价自身代议机构时，会在何种情境下、以何种方式考量描述性代议（descriptive representation）提供了新的理论视角。