Inequality in Political Representation

Abstract

In many countries the near-universal right to vote in elections has been a core attribute of their democratic institutions for decades, and in some cases over a century. However, the political experience of many of these very countries over the past decade have often alternated between apathy and frustration in these democratic institutions. Stark economic inequalities have mirrored inequalities in political influence, voters observing that elected officials who determine policy are disproportionately from a political elite or establishment. Why, after decades of near-universal voting rights, are only five percent of MPs in the UK House of Commons from the working class, and only one in four legislators in the United States are women?