Sustaining Gendered Practices? Power, Parties, and Elite Political Networks in Argentina

This paper investigates whether and how gender shapes access to elite political networks, using the case of Argentina, the first country in the world to adopt a national-level quota law in 1991. Quotas have significantly improved women’s access to elected office, without altering either the gendered hierarchies or gendered power networks that govern political advancement. We find that while both men and women elected to the national congress have considerable political experience, men are more likely to have held executive office, particularly posts that provide access to resources that sustain clientelism. We further find female legislators are less likely to be married and have children than male legislators, indicating that women’s domestic responsibilities circumscribe their political careers.