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While gender gaps in politics have narrowed considerably in recent decades, large disparities remain in several countries, especially those where binding gender quota laws have not been adopted. What are alternative pathways for increasing women’s political representation in these countries? We investigate one such pathway in the context of Turkey. A conservative dominant party, Erdogan’s AKP, is often challenged in local elections by a Kurdish party that promotes gender equality in electoral lists and in society more generally. Exploiting variation in Kurdish party wins in municipal elections during 2009-2019, we find that the Kurdish party winning leads AKP to increase its share of female candidates by 25 to 30% in the next election. Our data suggests that AKP’s response is primarily motivated by strategic considerations aimed at appealing to voters who may value gender-balanced representation. The implications of these findings extend beyond Turkey, suggesting that one party empowering women can help reduce gender gaps in lists across the board.

Key points from the policy brief

• In municipalities where the Kurdish party won, AKP increased its female share of council candidates by 25–30% in the following election, indicating competitive pressure can substitute - at least partly - for formal quotas.
• The brief finds no comparable jump in women on AKP’s low-visibility “special quota” lists, pointing to voter-facing strategy (not internal reform) as the main driver of change.
• Visual evidence from the charts (page 4) and party comparisons (pages 3–4) shows the Kurdish party far ahead on women’s representation -including among elected councillors and mayors - setting a benchmark that competitors felt compelled to approach.

Meet the authors

• Pamela Campa: Associate Professor at the º£½ÇÉçÇøÏÂÔØ Institute of Transition Economics (SITE), º£½ÇÉçÇøÏÂÔØ School of Economics; CEPR (Labour, Public and Political Economy); Mistra Center for Sustainable Markets (MISUM); Dondena Gender Initiative; J-PAL Europe.
• Perihan O. Saygin: Assistant Professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Department of Applied Economics.

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