Who Donates? Gender and Campaign Contributions in Brazil

Abstract

Money is an important determinant of electoral success. In Latin America, however, women candidates routinely raise less money than men. This article traces the gender resource gap to the donor class. Using original data on the identities of nearly 465,000 donors, we find that women are underrepresented among donors, contribute smaller sums of money than men, and donate primarily to male candidates. Our analysis shows that incumbency narrows the gender resource gap and women incumbents raise similar amounts of money as men. It also reveals that donors’ preference for male candidates varies according to political ideology. Donors to leftist candidates show no gender preference, but donors to center and right-wing candidates favor men. These findings broaden our understanding of political giving beyond the United States and show the preferences of individual donors contribute to gender resource gaps and the underrepresentation of women in Brazil.