The “Women’s Representation-Corruption Link” and Environmentalism: A Cross-National Study

Abstract

Numerous studies suggest a relationship between women’s political representation and improved environmental outcomes. Yet, the contexts in which this holds and the mechanisms through which it comes to be remain understudied. This study proposes that women’s impact on political commitments to environmentalism and policy outcomes are moderated by states’ corruption levels. Although women tend to be more environmental, left-leaning, and risk-averse than men, environments of high-corruption restrain, tokenize, and marginalize women representatives, thereby limiting the impact they may have on environmental governance. Time-series cross-sectional analyses of 58 democracies across 15 years show women’s representation is correlated with better environmental outputs and outcomes, but only when corruption levels are low. These findings help broaden our understanding of the relationship between representation and environmental politics and suggest that the interaction of both integrity and inclusivity in governments holds a key to fighting climate change.