The virtuous circle of participation: Female candidates and women's engagement in Korean politics

This research statistically examined the impact of female candidates on women's political engagement using Korean survey data from the 2016 general election and the 2018 local elections. Statistical testing has shown that gender gaps in electoral interest, political information, and political activities narrowed for women who lived in constituencies where major parties in important elections had nominated female candidates. In other words, the presence of prominent female candidates promotes women's political engagement. However, the effect could be reversed if female candidates were nominated only by minor parties. These analysis results imply that the nomination of female candidates by major political parties is critical to realize gender equality in political engagement.