Tunisia is undergoing significant change regarding women's political representation, raising questions about whether increased officeholding by women would motivate more female citizens to engage politically. This article employs a randomized experiment with nationally representative samples of Tunisian men and women to explore this issue directly.

Experimental Design & Findings

The results present an unexpected twist: respondents were significantly less likely to express interest in contacting their representatives when the hypothetical group included both male and female politicians compared to scenarios where all officeholders were women. This counterintuitive pattern held true across gender lines, with men and women showing similar preferences.

The study reveals a preference for gender-segregated political representation among Tunisian citizens.*

This effect appears particularly pronounced within Islamist-leaning segments of the population.*

The findings suggest that in Tunisia's specific context, certain religious attitudes may be associated with support for maintaining traditional gender boundaries even in representative politics.

Implications & Further Research

These results highlight an important tension between descriptive representation and citizen preferences. The finding encourages deeper investigation into how political representation intersects with conservative social norms regarding gender roles, especially within Muslim-majority contexts where such tensions may be particularly relevant.