Women's political representation confers legitimacy to decision-making processes and outcomes, but does this outcome hold when gender quotas are in place? Using survey experiments conducted across the Americas and Europe, we show that "quota penalties" exist, but are small. The legitimacy-conferring effects of women's political inclusion remain even when women obtain elected office through quotas.

Jennifer M. Piscopo is Associate Professor and Chair of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. As of 1 September 2023, she is Professor of Politics and Gender at Royal Holloway University of London. Her research on gender, political representation, and elections has appeared in over 30 academic journals, including The American Political Science Review, The American Journal of Political Science, Politics & Gender, and Comparative Political Studies. She also consults regularly for UN Women and other international organizations on the topic of increasing women's participation in politics.