Donald Trump’s cabinet is exceptional in many ways, not least because the share of women in the executive has fallen since the Obama era – even as recent decades have seen it grow all over the world. What effect does government ideology have on cabinet picks? The literature suggests left-wing governments tend to appoint more women. But new research by Daniel Stockemer and Aksel Sundström suggests the link is not straightforward. What in fact prompts women’s promotion is a change of government ideology. In this respect – as in so many others – the Trump administration is an outlier
