Representation Backstage? When Women Staffers Act for Women’s Interests

Political representation is often understood through the actions of elected officials, yet it also depends on the invisible labor of non-elected actors who enable and shape it behind the scenes in parliament. Among these, Members of Parliament’s personal staffers play a crucial but underexamined role in advancing women’s political representation. This paper investigates when and how staffers act on behalf of women’s interests, offering the first comparative analysis of their contribution to women’s substantive representation in European democracies. Drawing on original survey data from Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom (N=1007), it develops a theoretical framework that integrates Social Identity Theory, as reason why women staffers may be more inclined to advocate for women’s interests, and Principal–Agent Theory to illuminate and test how this potential is conditioned by staffers’ autonomy, authority, and access to influence at their workplace. By exposing these backstage dynamics, the study expands prevailing understandings of substantive representation and reveals how the everyday workings of parliamentary offices help determine whose interests are ultimately represented.