The Role of Gender in Legislative Compromise

In 2012, a record number of female legislators were elected to Congress, leading news outlets to suggest that more women will mean more compromise and bipartisanship in the legislature. In this project we investigate these claims and analyze whether female legislators have a greater incentive to engage in compromise, while male legislators have a greater incentive to appear steadfast. We will assess whether increasing numbers of women in Congress can be expected to change the willingness of leaders to compromise on political questions. More broadly, our work has implications for the analysis of electoral incentives and public perceptions of Congress.