Women Legislators in Africa and Foreign Aid.

The article investigates the notable rise in the share of women legislators in African national parliaments, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and examines whether this increase is linked to foreign-aid allocations rather than changes in electorate attitudes toward gender equality. Despite prevalent patriarchal views among African electorates, the study finds a strong and statistically significant relationship between higher shares of women legislators and increased foreign aid, estimating that a 10 percent rise in women's parliamentary representation corresponds to about a 1.2 percent increase in aid. This effect is especially pronounced in countries adopting reserved seats for women, which are associated with an average 14 percent increase in aid. The research also shows that while democratic countries receive more aid overall, donors do not specifically direct gender-selective aid toward more democratic African countries, suggesting aid incentives for gender equality operate independently of democratic reforms. These findings support the notion that international donor priorities on gender equality influence political gender representation in African parliaments through aid selectivity mechanisms.