Gender, Parenthood, and Political Representation

Research on how gender and parenthood shape political representation is newly emerging in political science. It is thus an ideal moment to bring together scholars working on disparate aspects of a common theme. We know that becoming a parent affects how people engage with politics, particularly for women. Research finds that parenthood suppresses women’s likelihood of running for office (Bernhard et al. 2020) and how they experience parliamentary workplaces (Childs 2016; Thomas and Bittner 2017). Initial research finds that gender and parenthood interact to shape representatives’ policy priorities (Bryant and Hellwege 2016; Washington 2008). Finally, attitudes towards candidates who are parents versus non-parents differ, with voters favouring mothers over women without children (Campbell and Cowley 2018; Smith 2018; Teele et al., 2018). Our knowledge of how parenthood affects representation, especially its intersectional effects, is in early stages. Existing studies often focus on high-income democracies like the US, Canada, or Sweden. By providing a space for scholars studying more diverse country sets to share research, data, and theoretical frameworks, our workshop will produce foundational knowledge for this emerging research area about how the intersection of parental status and other identities affect political representation, specifically who runs for office, who is elected, how long they remain in office and their policy priorities. The workshop will build a much-needed network for ongoing collaboration, data sharing, and research grants. Publishing outputs include an edited volume and journal special issue that advance knowledge about how a key, but often overlooked, identity shapes political representation.

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1: Does parenthood influence who runs for office?
2: Does parenthood shape who stays in office?
3: Does parenthood shape the policy priorities of elected representatives?
4: Does parental status shape voter perceptions of candidates and representatives?
5: Does parenthood influence who engages in politics?

Title	Details
Parenthood and Politics: Surveying State and National Legislators in Germany	View Paper Details
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Parenthood and legislators' temporal focus: evidence from the UK House of Commons, 1946 - 2022	View Paper Details
The Political Consequences of the Mental Load	View Paper Details
The 'mental load': Trends and consequences at the gender equality frontier	View Paper Details
Descriptive Representation and Voter Evaluations of Decision-making Bodies	View Paper Details
Playing the Dad Card: How and When Men Highlight Familial Roles in Political Campaigns	View Paper Details
Taking Parenthood Seriously: How Parental Status Predicts Women Legislators' Career Outcomes	View Paper Details
A Parliamentary Pay Gap? Gender and Parenthood Pay Gaps in National Parliaments	View Paper Details
Is the time right? The effect of daytime meetings on political representation and selection	View Paper Details
Navigating parenthood: Policy preferences from pregnancy to postpartum – A three-wave panel study in Sweden	View Paper Details
Balancing Politics and Parenthood: Insights into the Work-Family Balance and Political Behavior of Members of the European Parliament	View Paper Details
Public Support for Using Campaign Funds for Childcare	View Paper Details
Moms in the House: The Raced-Gendered Experience of Mothers Running for Political Office	View Paper Details
A Rich Woman's World? Wealth and Gendered Paths to Office	View Paper Details