Does Women’s Descriptive Representation in Collective Bargaining Teams Contribute to Their Substantive Representation in Bargaining Outcomes?

Abstract

The paper investigates three hypotheses regarding the relationship between descriptive and substantial representation of women in the area of collective bargaining: the critical mass hypothesis, the hypothesis of a linear relationship and the hypothesis of a curvilinear relationship. It examines whether, for selected collective agreements in Austria and Germany, the share of women in union bargaining teams shows a relationship to women-friendly bargaining outcomes in the areas of wages and other issues. Concerning wages, the results show limited support for the critical mass hypothesis and for the hypothesis of a linear influence of descriptive representation. Concerning issues apart from wages, the data show no relationship between descriptive representation and the chosen indicator for women-friendly bargaining outcomes.

Keywords: women, trade unions, collective bargaining, descriptive representation, substantive representation, critical mass

JEL Classification: Z10