This paper demonstrates that the impact of descriptive representation on citizens’ perceptions of democratic processes varies with levels of representation and the nature of the issue being decided. In a survey experiment, a committee decides on three policies that disproportionately impact women, but which vary in whether individuals perceive them as touching on morality or conferring targeted benefits. Our findings show that citizens associate descriptive representation with fairness and are more amenable to decisions made by a representative body. However, perceptions of some decisions, e.g., regarding abortion, strongly improve with women’s equal and over-representation on the committee. On other issues-ones that could be perceived as offering women a targeted benefit-women’s over-representation reduces perceptions of fairness. These findings highlight the importance of exploring the interaction between decision-making body composition and the policy agenda when seeking to understand citizens’ views of democratic policymaking.

Descriptive representation can signal substantive representation to members of marginalized groups. However, existing research has not examined the degree to which marginalized identities matter to members of these groups. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, I argue that marginalized individuals’ perception that their life’s trajectory is connected to those of other group members enhances perceptions that in-group representatives are responsive to their needs. Using original survey data and a factorial survey experiment from the United Kingdom, I show considerable variation in women’s gender consciousness (n = 3,548) and working class individuals’ class consciousness (n = 2,565). I find that individuals with high levels of consciousness perceive stronger improvements in responsiveness as descriptive representation of their in-group increases. These results contribute to the long-standing question whether descriptive representation matters and reveal how marginalized groups’ perceptions of democratic institutions hinge on descriptive representation in contexts of a rising emphasise on structural inequalities.

Existing research highlights the influence of women’s descriptive representation on voters’ perceptions of policy-making, aligning with long-standing theories of representation. However, it overlooks how complex political issues interact with descriptive representation and affect perceptions of democratic processes and outcomes. Using an exploratory pre-survey, we examine voter perceptions across 50+ gendered policy issues related to women’s and men’s daily lives. We analyze initial policy reactions, support levels, policy salience, perceptions of targeted benefits, and who is seen as affected by each policy. Additionally, we assess whether respondents view these policies as moral, costly, or ideologically aligned with the political left or right. We further explore gender differences with respect to each of these dimensions. In a subsequent survey experiment, we manipulate the descriptive composition of a legislative body – varying the under-, equal, or over-representation of women and men – and decision-making outcomes on a subset of pre-tested issues. We evaluate respondents’ perceptions of fairness and substantive outcomes. We hypothesize that women’s and men’s equal and over-representation improves perceptions of decision-making on moral issues that strongly affect the respective group. At the same time, we expect that women’s over-representation negatively affects policy perceptions when introducing costly policies that mainly benefit women. However, we do not expect the same for scenarios of committees showing male over-representation and introducing benefits for men. Our study offers critical insights into the nuanced effects of descriptive representation, demonstrating when it improves democratic legitimacy and when it may provoke unintended negative consequences.

In recent decades, political divides between urban and rural areas have intensified, and gender divides have become increasingly salient. At the same time, ongoing societal transformations have expanded women’s individual choices, including the choice where to live. Yet, we know little about how these developments affect women’s domestic migration behaviour. Are women more likely than men to move to urban areas? And if so, are political considerations part of their motivations? We argue that women in rural areas may perceive a sense of ideological misalignment between their own attitudes and the prevailing norms within their communities, which may motivate them to relocate. Using panel data from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, we examine whether women are more likely than men to migrate from rural to urban areas and whether ideological predispositions play a stronger role in women’s residential choices. To uncover the mechanisms behind these patterns, we complement our analysis with original survey data from the Netherlands. We employ a pairwise comparison experiment to test whether women give greater weight than men to political and cultural place-based factors when deciding where to live. By integrating gender and spatial dimensions, our project contributes to a deeper understanding of how urban–rural divides and gender-based conflicts intersect and mutually reinforce one another in the knowledge economy.

The evaluation of individual politicians and their performances by voters is of growing importance. Specifically, politicians’ performances may be evaluated differently depending on their age and gender. Existing studies on candidate selection suggest that voters do not discriminate against young candidates, but consider them less experienced and competent. We argue that the bad performances of young politicians are evaluated more negatively than middle-aged politicians because their decisions are perceived as acts of naivety due to younger politicians’ assumed inexperience. Furthermore, we expect that this effect is even stronger for young female than for male politicians of the same age. Thus, we test whether young women’s political performances are more likely to be seen negatively by voters than those of comparable older male politicians based on the approval rating of executive politicians and a novel survey experiment from Germany. These findings have important implications for understanding the under-representation of younger age groups and women in politics and the stability of democratic institutions.