Stained-glass politics and descriptive representation: does associational leadership by women engender political engagement among women?

Abstract

The vast literature on the political effects of descriptive representation focuses solely on representatives in government. However, since non-governmental associations are essential to citizens' political engagement, we extend the reach of the descriptive representation literature to include associational leadership. We offer an initial glimpse at what this form of investigation may entail, asking what effect descriptive representation of women within religious associations (i.e. in the pulpit) might have on the political engagement of members of their congregations. Using a set of matched data gathered from clergy and members of their congregations, our findings suggest that women's associational leadership could be an important force boosting women's political engagement, although this is conditional on the content of elite political communication and, at times, comes at the expense of men's involvement in politics.