From Descriptive to Substantive Representation of Women in Times of Crisis-The Case of Latin American Countries

We aim to reinforce the existing research by providing further evidence that an in-crease in the proportion of women in governing positions can contribute to an in-crease in the representation of women's interests. For this, we use the November 2021 version of the COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker Policy Measures Dataset, which compiles all policies implemented by governments to tackle the crisis for the period between January 4, 2020, and October 5, 2021. We conduct regression analysis using ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares models for 179 countries. We find that an increase in female political participation resulted in a greater number of gender-sensitive policies being introduced during this period. This effect was especially pronounced in Latin America and the Caribbean, although significant intra-regional variations were observed. We further conducted a brief study of Argentina and Cuba to elucidate the potential factors influencing their diverging policy outcomes. Overall, this study highlights the positive impact of women's descriptive representation in bringing a gender perspective to policymaking, particularly in times of crisis, and emphasizes their significant contribution to gender equality in developing countries