Representation from below: How women’s grassroots party activism promotes equal political participation

Abstract

Extensive research investigates the impact of descriptive representation on women's political participation; yet, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This paper develops a novel theory of descriptive representation, arguing that women politicians mobilize women's political participation by recruiting women as grassroots party activists. Evidence from a citizen survey and the natural experiment of gender quotas in India confirms that women politicians are more likely to recruit women party activists, and citizens report greater contact with them in reserved constituencies during elections. Furthermore, with women party activists at the helm, electoral campaigns are more likely to contact women, and activist contact is positively associated with political knowledge and participation. Evidence from representative surveys of politicians and party activists and fieldwork in campaigns, further supports the theory. The findings highlight the pivotal role of women's party activism in shaping women's political behavior, especially in contexts with pervasive clientelism and persistent gender unequal norms.

Keywords: Female political participation, symbolic effects, mobilization