Buying a Voice: Gendered Contribution Careers among Affluent Political Donors to Federal Elections, 1980–2008

Abstract

Early work in feminist theory hypothesized that differences in women and men's social and institutional roles might be reflected in the ways they participate in the political sphere. However, past empirical research has found scant evidence of a gender gap in the participatory strategies or motivations of women and men who become active in politics. But significantly less is known about the gender gap among a more select and increasingly significant player in American politics—political donors. In this article, we utilize a novel big data set—called the Longitudinal Elite Contributor Database (LECD)—that contains the population of all itemized donations made in federal elections between 1980 and 2008. Using this novel big data set supplemented with Social Security Administration (SSA) data on the gender of first names, we provide original estimates of the long‐term evolution of gender representation in the donor pool, vis‐à‐vis when, how often, and to whom affluent men and women have made political contributions over nearly 30 years. We find that large and persistent gendered inequalities of political voice continue to characterize this significant form of political influence. We theorize the potential implications of these findings for the representation of women's interests in the political sphere.

Women in the One Percent: Gender Dynamics in Top Income Positions

“…In fact, evidence suggests that women use political power differently than men. For example, high-income women are more likely than high-income men to donate to PACs that promote and lobby for more liberal and progressive policies, such as EMILY's List, MoveOn PAC, and Hollywood Women's PAC (Heerwig and Gordon 2018). More liberal stances may also emerge because women who make it into the one percent have high levels of education and likely have consistent labor force participation over the course of their careers.…”

Diversifying the Donor Pool: How Did Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program Reshape Participation in Municipal Campaign Finance?

“…Campaign donors are overwhelmingly white and older than the electorate at-large (Joe et al 2008;Pew Research Center 2017). Heerwig and Gordon (2018) also identify a significant gender gap in participation in the federal campaign finance system with men constituting the majority of political donors since 1980. In this way, socioeconomic inequalities in American society are exacerbated by a campaign finance system in the United States that amplifies the voices of donors in the political process.…”

Diversifying the Donor Pool: Did Seattle's Democracy Vouchers Program Reshape Participation in Municipal Campaign Finance?

“…Campaign donors are overwhelmingly white and older than the electorate at-large (Joe et al 2008;Pew Research 2017). Heerwig and Gordon (2018) also identify a significant gender gap in participation in the federal campaign finance system with men constituting the majority of political donors since 1980. In this way, socioeconomic inequalities in American society are exacerbated by a campaign finance system in the United States that amplifies the voices of donors in the political process.…”