Women as presidents: The impact on the female labor force

Female participation in the labor market has been seen as a driver of economic growth and human development, but its recent expansion has been surprisingly slow. We ask whether women presidents, who have the power to influence gender disparities, can influence the female participation in the labor market, compared with male presidents. Selecting three South American countries that have recently been led by women presidents-Argentina, Brazil, and Chile-, we find that women's presidential mandates are positively related to the participation of the female labor force and to the unemployment rates, compared with men, and with a reduction of the gender gap in the labor force and unemployment rate by 0.6 points. The results suggest that women in high political positions are therefore able to make changes with possible consequences for a more gender-equal society.