Constitutions and the Political Agency of Women: A Cross-Country Study
基于2011年跨国数据，研究发现宪法中禁止性别歧视的条款能使女性议会席位占比提高超过3.5个百分点，其机制是推动针对性立法。
The underrepresentation of women in parliaments worldwide warrants attention to discern underlying sources. This study examines one potential source: the countries' constitutions. Based on a large cross-country dataset from 2011, the study demonstrates that women's representation in parliament is larger in countries with constitutional protection from gender-based discrimination. Baseline estimates suggest that the presence of such protection results in over a 3.5 percentage point increase in women's share of parliamentary seats. The study probes some underlying mechanisms and shows that places with constitutional protection from gender-based discrimination are likely to have legislation directly targeting women's underrepresentation. The results underscore the role of constitutional design in promoting women's political agency.