What Determines Voting for Women Candidates? An Analysis of Taiwan Council Elections

What Determines Voting for Women Candidates? An Analysis of Taiwan Council Elections

While several factors have been posited as driving voting behavior, there is little understanding of why votes go to certain types of candidates, such as women candidates. This study attempts to explore specific questions regarding the formation of voting behavior by analyzing electoral outcomes for women candidates in the context of Taiwan. Using a dataset of the electoral results of 83 local council elections at the district level in Taiwan from 2005 to 2018, analysis using social calculus shows that demographic factors are essential in explaining votes going to women candidates. The results also reveal habit persistence in voting for candidates based on gender. Moreover, there is evidence that the presence of women representatives helps shape voters’ decisions on candidates at the gender level.

While several factors have been posited as driving voting behavior, there is little understanding of why votes go to certain types of candidates, such as women candidates. This study attempts to explore specific questions regarding the formation of voting behavior by analyzing electoral outcomes for women candidates in the context of Taiwan. Using a dataset of the electoral results of 83 local council elections at the district level in Taiwan from 2005 to 2018, analysis using social calculus shows that demographic factors are essential in explaining votes going to women candidates. The results also reveal habit persistence in voting for candidates based on gender. Moreover, there is evidence that the presence of women representatives helps shape voters’ decisions on candidates at the gender level.