How parties redefine their positions if they are led by a woman: Empirical evidence for women’s green, alternative, and libertarian agenda

This article investigates how women as party heads impact party positions. It introduces the proposition that leadership by women is decisive for parties’ stances on sociocultural but not economic debates. I argue that this pattern is a consequence of dissimilar gender gaps in policy preferences across the two ideological dimensions at the elite level. To support this proposition, I study change in party positions in nineteen developed democracies around the world between 1995 and 2018. The evidence reveals that parties led by a woman tend to emphasize green, alternative, and libertarian stances. In particular sustainable growth, environmental protection, and freedom and human rights become more prominent in party manifestos under women leadership. Overall, these findings reveal the difference women make as critical actors and the conditions under which the presence of women in political offices translates into responsiveness towards female citizens.

本文探究政党女性领袖对政党立场的影响机制。本文提出如下命题：女性领导对政党在社会文化议题上的立场具有决定性影响，但对经济议题则无此效应。本文认为，这一现象源于精英层面两个意识形态维度下，政策偏好的性别差距存在显著差异。为验证上述命题，本文分析了1995年至2018年间全球19个发达民主国家的政党立场变化。研究结果显示，由女性领导的政党更倾向于强调绿色政治、另类政治与自由意志主义立场；具体而言，在女性领导的政党竞选纲领中，可持续增长、环境保护、自由与人权等议题的受重视程度显著提升。综上，本研究揭示了女性作为关键政治行动者所产生的影响差异，同时阐明了女性担任政治公职时，其履职行为能够转化为对女性公民诉求回应性的具体情境条件。