Gender Politics in the Lobbying Profession

Abstract

Although political scientists have increasingly focused on the role of gender in the policy process and the characteristics of individual lobbyists, little is known about the gender politics of the government relations profession. We extend the study of professional women to the unique political context of Washington, DC, lobbying, an important form of political participation that is understudied in terms of gender. Using data from more than 25,000 individuals registered to lobby the federal government from 2008 to 2015, we show that women account for 37% of the lobbyist population in Washington, that female lobbyists are more likely to work as in-house employees than for contract lobbying firms, and that the largest Washington lobbying firms are strongly biased towards employing men. We add to these findings qualitative data from in-depth interviews with 23 lobbyists to reveal how the professional experiences of women often depend on the idiosyncrasies of lobbying employment and the political nature of their work. We conclude that the underrepresentation of women in the professional lobbying community is an underappreciated problem with broader implications for gender equality in elite political participation.

Is this a men’s world? On the need to study descriptive representation of women in lobbying and policy advocacy

“…This very low share of women advocating on behalf of companies is in line with findings from survey research on the US (e.g., Lucas & Hyde, 2012), and variation across advocacy types is also suggested in other studies (LaPira et al, 2019;Nownes & Freeman, 1998). In our view, it is important to address the effects of these patterns on the perception of gender roles and career aspirations, as well as perceived organizational profiles, and ultimately, advocacy success.…”

“…Existing empirical evidence on gender biases in the lobbying population suggests that the face of political advocacy is predominantly male. A recent study by LaPira et al (2019) looks at individuals registered to lobby the United States' (US) federal government and shows that women account for only 37 per cent of these lobbyists. Bochel and Berthier (2020) assess the representation of women in legislative hearings in Scotland and show that around 38 per cent of committee witnesses were women between 2016 and 2017.…”

“…A new study by LaPira et al (2019) adds, however, that access of male and female lobbyists varies in the spheres of policy and politics. While women advance similarly well in positions related to policy discussions (e.g., identifying problems, developing solutions), the politics part of lobbying (i.e., campaign consulting, fundraising, and party-building activities) remains predominantly male.…”

“…According to Schlozman, lobbying can be seen as 'a kind of oldboy political network ' (1990, p. 339), which might make it less likely for women as a career choice. In turn, women may be less likely to get hired into existing networks since these may recruit candidates that are similar to themselves (LaPira et al, 2019).…”

“…Several important studies have looked at representation through organizations advocating for the interests of women as well as other disadvantaged groups (e.g., Celis et al, 2014;Marchetti, 2014;Schlozman, 1990;Strolovitch, 2006). Yet, the general gender composition of the lobbying community has not been subject to enough scholarly scrutiny (for recent exceptions see: LaPira et al, 2019;Lucas & Hyde, 2012).…”