Wednesday, July 8, 2026 

In this newly published paper in Political Research Quarterly, Emma Schroeder (Texas Christian University) examines how increasing numbers of women in state legislatures influence the legislative behavior of women and men, using bill introduction data and legislative effectiveness scores from 49 U.S. state legislatures. She finds that in upper chambers with more women, women serve as the primary sponsors of fewer bills than men. However, when both primary sponsorship and cosponsorship are considered, women contribute to more bills than men in both chambers. This relationship varies somewhat by party, with larger differences between Democratic women and men than between Republican women and men. While there are fewer gender differences in state legislative effectiveness scores, women in upper chambers with relatively few women tend to be more effective than men. Schroeder concludes that having more women in office influences legislator behavior.

Read the full paper here.

Photo: “Gender Equality Weight Scale with Gender Signs Showing Equal Weight“ by Knut is licensed through Adobe Stock.