How Do Women and Men Respond to More Women in the Legislature? A Study of Bill Introductions and Effectiveness
2026-06-18
How do the increasing numbers of women in state legislatures change the legislative behavior of women and men? To answer this question, I analyze bill introductions and effectiveness in 49 U.S. state legislatures. I find that in upper chambers with high numbers of women, women are the primary sponsors of fewer bills than men. However, when taking primary and cosponsorship together, women continue to contribute to more bills than men legislators in both chambers. This relationship is somewhat dependent on party, especially in places with many women, where the difference in bill contributions is greater between Democratic women and men than Republican women and men. I find fewer gender differences in state legislative effectiveness scores, but women in upper chambers with few women tend to be more effective than men. I conclude that having more women in office does influence legislator behavior.