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Journal Article

Canvassing the Gatekeepers: A Field Experiment to Increase Women Voters’ Turnout in Pakistan

Published on 18 May 2022

How can we close persistent gender gaps in political participation? We develop a theory highlighting the role of male household members as “gatekeepers” of women’s participation in patriarchal settings and argue that the answer involves targeting these men.

We conduct a field experiment in Pakistan and find that targeting women with a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote campaign has no effect on their turnout in a national election. However, women’s turnout increases substantially when male household members are canvassed to support women’s participation. Households where both men and women are canvassed see the largest increases in women’s turnout and additional increases in political discussion and men’s practical support to help women vote. Using a costly behavioral measure, we also demonstrate lasting effects on men’s supportive behaviour in these households two months after the election. Our results address the importance, and tangible benefits, of engaging men to ease constraints that hinder equal participation.

Cite this publication

Cheema, A.; Khan, S.; Liaqat, A. and Khan Mohmand, S. (2022). Canvassing the Gatekeepers: A Field Experiment to Increase Women Voters’ Turnout in Pakistan, American Political Science Review, 1-21, DOI: 10.1017/S0003055422000375

Authors

Sarah Khan

Assistant Professor, Yale University

Asad Liaqat

Research Scientist, Meta

Shandana Khan Mohmand

Cluster leader and Research Fellow

Publication details

doi
10.1017/S0003055422000375
language
English

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About this publication

Region
Pakistan

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