The Role of Women in Local Governments: An Analysis of Efficiency in Spain

Abstract

Female representation may be a key factor in improving the quality of governance. In fact, the literature considers that the presence of women in organisations tends to improve performance. In this context, this paper attempts to analyse whether the presence of women in municipal councils has an influence on the efficiency of public services for a sample of 141 Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the period 2014–2018. Our results show a U-shaped relationship between the number of female councillors and the level of efficiency in Spanish municipalities. This means that the presence of women is positively associated with municipal efficiency but only if the number of female councillors is relatively high. On the contrary, their voice and personal characteristics are diluted among their male counterparts, and efficiency may be reduced.