Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7567-4034

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Dissertation (Campus Access)

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Committee Chair

Erik S. Herron

Committee Member

Mason Moseley

Committee Member

Jay Krehbiel

Committee Member

Vito D’Orazio

Committee Member

Karen Culcasi

Abstract

This dissertation examines how quota institutions, such as reserved seats, condition legislators’ access to power and authority and influence their subsequent legislative behavior. Existing scholarship on quotas and representation primarily evaluates whether electoral correctives increase descriptive and substantive representation. Less attention has been paid to how legislators elected through different institutional and electoral quota mechanisms are incorporated into legislative organizations after entering office. To explain these post-election dynamics, I develop and test a unified theory of hierarchical inclusion and competence signaling, arguing that quota legislators are formally included within legislatures but face unequal access to influential and prestigious committees, leadership positions, and other party-gatekept resources. In response, they strategically focus on visible, institutionally accessible forms of legislative activity to demonstrate competence, institutional capacity, and commitment to parliamentary responsibility. I evaluate this theory using Bangladesh and Pakistan as theoretically grounded comparative cases and an original dataset of committee assignments, legislative attendance, and parliamentary questions, supplemented with 33 elite interviews. I demonstrate that reserved-seat legislators do not experience outright exclusion from legislative organizations. Instead, they are less likely to be assigned to influential and prestigious committee positions, reflecting a pattern of hierarchical inclusion. At the same time, reserved-seat legislators attend plenary sessions at higher rates than their general-seat peers and engage more actively in parliamentary questioning, particularly on issues affecting women and other marginalized groups. These patterns suggest that, rather than disengaging and withdrawing, reserved-seat legislators respond strategically by investing in visible and individually controllable forms of legislative participation that signal competence, diligence, and credibility. The findings advance debates on representation, legislative institutions, and political inclusion in the Global South by demonstrating that quota-based inclusion may expand access to office without eliminating internal hierarchies of power and influence.

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