Different groups in society have their particular interests and identity which they desire to have present in government and legislatures. Political representation links the population and legislators, commonly distinguishing between substantive representation (of interests) and descriptive representation (of social groups). Studies of descriptive representation usually select a particular group and examine how well this group is represented. Here I draw on Ruedin’s (2012) concept of ‘individual representation’ to describe how well individuals in society are represented. Such representation is expressed in terms of left-right positions or policy preferences. As individual-level characteristics, individual representation scores are ideally suited to give full consideration to considerations of intersectionality unattainable in traditional approaches to political representation. Using data from the CSES, this paper examines whether intersectionality affects political representation in political left and right. Intersectionality is considered in terms of sex, age, and minority status – and the interactions between these.
