Gender Quotas and the Evolution of Co-Sponsorship Networks in Portugal

Gender quotas influence the internal party competition, by increasing competitive pressures on male MPs and decreasing competitive pressures on female MPs. At the same time, co-sponsorship activity to signal to regional constituencies becomes more important. We analyse how the introduction of a gender quota in Portugal affected the evolution of co-sponsorship networks in the Portuguese parliament. We can show that male MPs who were moved to a more precarious list position become more active and are more likely to co-sponsor with female MPs. Female MPs who move to a more secure position become less active. This indicates the importance of co-sponsorship as an instrument to cater to constituency interest.