Unequal representation of women and youth on climate policy issues

Abstract

Women and youth support climate policies to a larger extent than their counterparts, and they are underrepresented in formal politics. This paper explores whether descriptively underrepresented groups also are substantively underrepresented on climate issues. I study issue congruence between the public and elected representatives on climate policies in Norway and find high levels of overall congruence. However, representatives are less congruent with women and youth than they are with men and older age groups, linking descriptive and substantive representation.