Electoral Systems and the Legislative Representation of Ethnic Muslim Women in the West, 2000-2010

Over the past two decades, Muslims have faced increasing hostility in many Western countries, in part due to controversies involving women. Yet, the political representation of Muslim women in the West has received scant scholarly attention. I address this gap by investigating the representation of women and men with Muslim ethnic or national origins across the national legislatures of 20 Western countries from 2000 to 2010. Drawing from theories of intersectionality, I investigate how gender, ethnicity, and religion intersect in politics and how these relationships are shaped by electoral institutions. I find substantial growth in ethnic Muslim politicians over the decade. Women from Muslim origins are overwhelmingly elected by countries with proportional representation electoral systems. Regardless of electoral system, however, women who wear headscarves are noticeably absent from elected positions in national legislatures.