Ina E. Bieber examines the underrepresentation of women in politics. The focus is on the question of whether women are unable, unwilling, or should not participate in politics. Based on theoretical and empirical foundations, she develops a comprehensive analytical framework through which the electoral chances of women in federal elections are analyzed both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, as well as experimentally. The results show that macrostructural factors (such as the electoral system and parties) play a central role in explaining female representation. In contrast, microstructural factors such as marital status, typical female professions, female-specific interests, or gender-specific personality traits do not provide sufficient explanations.