Are women more interrupted in politics? (Job Market paper)
Abstract: Are women interrupted more than men when they speak in parliament? I study all public speeches in the French Lower House (2007-2025) and Upper House (1996-2026), and
identify interruptions with a language model trained on the Lower House's administrative records (2017-2025). Interruptions are frequent, they come mostly from men and from the
opposing political side. Using close mixed-gender races in the Lower House, I nd that electing a woman lowers the number of interruptions received per speech by 39%. OLS regressions show a gap of similar size in both chambers, including the Upper House, which receives far less media attention.
Self-presentation and Hidden Voter Discrimination (co-authored with Quentin Lippmann, AMSE)
Abstract: Voter discrimination can be hard to detect if politicians adapt their behavior to avoid it. This paper studies whether such discrimination depends on candidate self-presentation. Using candidate manifesto images from the 2017, 2022 and 2024 French parliamentary elections, we first document two facts: (i) women are 29–33% more likely to smile than men, and (ii) female and male candidates receive similar vote shares overall. We then show that a gender gap in votes emerges only among candidates who do not smile. To identify the causal effect of smiling, we run an online experiment in which respondents evaluate AI-generated smiling and non-smiling versions of the same candidates. Smiling increases vote intentions for female candidates more than for male candidates, mainly by increasing perceived warmth and attractiveness. It reduces perceived authority for both women and men. Respondents also anticipate these patterns in others’ evaluations. We formalize this trade-off in a simple model showing when adaptation can hide voter discrimination and when it becomes costly.
English Press: The Conversation, French Press: The Conversation Fr, Tf1
Political Polarization and Gender Equality in Law in OECD Countries (co-authored with François Facchini, CES, UP1)
Abstract: The polarization of political debate raises important questions about democracy. This article investigates the impact of political polarization on gender equality in law within OECD democracies. Using the World Bank (2024) dataset, which includes data from 37 OECD countries between 1971 and 2023, we construct a macrobalanced panel dataset. Through a fixed-effect model, our analysis reveals a negative correlation between political polarization and the legal gender equality index. Furthermore, the results suggest that while women's representation in political institutions is essential for advancing women's rights, it is not alone sufficient to guarantee full equality between men and women.