When women lead: women mayors and municipal police effectiveness in reducing homicide in Brazil

While research highlights women leaders’ influence in traditionally feminine domains such as health, education, and welfare, less is known about their impact in traditionally masculine fields such as policing and crime reduction. Using a Regression Discontinuity design and data from Brazilian municipalities, this study shows that, compared with male mayors, women mayors are more likely to adopt municipal police forces. Municipal policing, in turn, reduces youth homicide rates under women leadership, with this effect amplified by investments in socially oriented infrastructure. These findings demonstrate that women leaders can generate broader community-wide benefits beyond direct representation of women’s interests. The study extends scholarship on gender-responsive governance and women leadership by showing how elected women can shape policy choices and their effectiveness in traditionally male-dominated domains such as policing.