Are women more interrupted in politics? Evidence from 494,084 French Senate speeches (Job Market paper)
Abstract: Gender quotas in politics have become increasingly common worldwide. This global diffusion reflects a profound shift in how democracies seek to address women's under-representation in political institutions. However, little is known about how women elected through gender-quota rules affect the perceptions and treatment of women once they enter the legislature. I employ a difference-in-differences (DID) design to identify the causal effect of a gender quota based election on the likelihood that women are interrupted during their speeches in the French Senate.
Self-presentation and Conditional Voter Bias Against Women (co-authored with Quentin Lippmann, AMSE)
Abstract: This paper investigates whether voter bias against female candidates is conditional on how they present themselves. Using a comprehensive dataset of candidate manifesto images from the 2017, 2022 and 2024 French parliamentary elections, we first establish two empirical facts: (i) female candidates are 25-30% more likely to smile than male candidates, and (ii) women receive fewer votes than men only when they do not smile. Second, we implement an online experiment to study the causal effects of self-presentation. We generate smiling and non-smiling versions of political candidate images using artificial intelligence methods. We then ask subjects to evaluate identical candidates displaying different expressions. We find that a smile increases vote intentions, perceived warmth, and perceived attractiveness for female candidates more than for male candidates, while leaving perceived competence unchanged and reducing perceived authority for both groups. Our results suggest that voter bias targets women who deviate from self-presentation norms. Women who conform avoid the penalty, but at the cost of lowering their perceived authority.
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.