Party ideology, electoral competition and the election of women in five Latin American democracies: Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, 1980-2013

Women have made enormous progress in their political incorporation. However, the pace of that incorporation has differed across countries. The present article analyzes the effects of party ideology and of the characteristics of electoral competition on the election of women in legislative seats in five Latin American democracies over three decades. The empirical results provide evidence of the effects of party (ideology) and institutional factors (type of ballot); and at the same time, call into question the effect of factors previously asserted in the literature, such as district magnitude y party magnitude.