The impact of female political leadership on gender attitudes: Evidence from Taiwan’s local councils

Despite the shared Confucian culture and economic development trajectories, women in Taiwan currently enjoy a much greater socio-economic status than their counterparts in South Korea and Japan. This study investigates a potential factor contributing to this striking difference: the reserved seats for women in Taiwan’s local councils. The quota assignment rule creates a ‘zigzag’ proportional function of female councilors, providing a unique estimation opportunity. We find that exposure to female political leadership decreases the likelihood of mothers with two daughters opting for a third child, whereas no such an effect is observed among mothers with two children of other sex compositions, indicating attenuation in son preference. Additionally, we find that the gender quota encourages married women to take on a more active role in household decisions, and motivates female students to pursue a college major in law and political science, fields conducive to political involvement. These gender-specific effects lend support to the hypothesis that female political leaders serve as role models, enticing more egalitarian gender attitudes among women.