Is the crystal ceiling breaking? Effect of campaign spending and incumbency on women electoral results: The case of the Chilean Constitutional Convention.

Abstract

Campaign spending and the participation of incumbent candidates affect the outcome of an electoral contest, but both the fundraising process and voting itself usually disadvantage female candidates. This disadvantage produces a lack of female representation in political positions, which is part of the so-called “crystal ceiling” also present in other spheres of social structure. The Chilean Constitutional Convention electoral process was a new electoral phenomenon that had no incumbents and forced entrance and exit parity, shattering this crystal ceiling. Estimations of a two-stage least squares model with data from the Chilean electoral college (Servel), show that the effectiveness of campaign spending rises in the absence of incumbency. Also, this result leaves an open door to observe if these rules could eventually change future electoral preferences, lessening the bias against female candidates.