American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Internal versus Institutional Barriers to Gender Equality: Evidence from British Politics
American Economic Review
(pp. 1914–53)
Abstract
Weekly lotteries determine which politicians ask the UK prime minister a question in front of a male-dominated, noisy chamber. Lottery winners receive 4 percent higher vote margin in the next election, but women are 12 percent less likely to submit questions than same-cohort men. The gender gap does not close with lottery-induced experience asking a question, but it closes after a format change, with questions asked to a smaller, quieter audience. The switch differentially draws in women with quieter voices. Our findings support institutional change, rather than experience, as a response to gender gaps in adversarial settings like the UK Parliament.Citation
Kumar, Noor, Uyseok Lee, Matt Lowe, and Olaitan Ogunnote. 2026. "Internal versus Institutional Barriers to Gender Equality: Evidence from British Politics." American Economic Review 116 (5): 1914–53. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20241127Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D44 Auctions
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination