📚 A century of Norwegian candidate records

Proportional representation (PR) systems—especially closed-list PR—tend to have a higher share of women in politics than majoritarian systems, yet progress toward gender parity has been slow and uneven. This study examines whether single-occupant offices that function as career stepping stones create hidden majoritarian barriers to women's advancement.

🔎 What was traced and tested

• Focus on single-occupant “majoritarian stepping stones,” such as local mayor and list leader positions.
• Two research questions: 1) Do gender gaps emerge at these stepping-stone posts? 2) How does access to these posts affect women’s progression into higher offices?
• A century of detailed candidate-level data from Norway is used to trace career trajectories and compare promotion patterns by gender.

📈 Key findings from the empirical analysis

• Gender gaps do emerge at majoritarian stepping stones: women are underrepresented in single-occupant local posts that serve as common routes to higher office.
• Parties have adopted compensating practices: when women occupy these stepping-stone positions they are often promoted to higher office at higher rates than men, reducing the negative effect of the initial gap.
• These party-level workarounds mitigate—but do not fully erase—the adverse impact of hidden majoritarianism on women’s overall representation in higher offices.

💡 Why this matters

• Even in PR systems that appear more gender-inclusive, single-seat offices can create bottlenecks that slow women's career progression.
• The findings highlight the importance of looking beyond electoral systems to intra-party promotion practices and career pathways when assessing obstacles to gender parity.