Persistent gender roles in a gender-balanced context: Swedish MPs’ citizen engagement

Distinct leadership styles are expected from women legislators, and research suggests that this is driven by women’s newcomer and minority-status in politics. Do women’s styles differ from men’s in gender-balanced contexts? This paper investigates informal norms on a relatively understudied part of legislators’ role: citizen engagement, using 33 interviews with women and men Swedish MPs. The findings suggest that women MPs experience high expectations on their availability to listen to citizens’ personal problems, while men more easily disregard citizens’ demands on their time and engagement. Compared to men, women also prioritize citizens outside their own electoral district more. This enforces hidden inequalities which continue to shape the gendered conditions for leadership in numerically gender balanced institutions.