We study differences in the attention that legislators pay to speeches delivered by their male and female colleagues. Drawing on unique video footage of the plenary proceedings in a large German state parliament over the course of one year, we are able to systematically gauge legislators' reactions to the speeches of their colleagues using automated video analysis. To measure attention, we first train a face detection and a face recognition model to identify all legislators in the assembly. Second, we use pose detection to assess whether legislators pay attention to the floor proceedings. This results in a continuous measure of the behavior of all members in the chamber which we match with information on the current speaker. Initial results suggest that male legislators enjoy higher levels of attention when delivering a speech compared to their female colleagues. The attention deficit for female speakers is more pronounced among male legislators and moderated by partisanship.

Our study seconds efforts of female legislators to draw attention to their unequal treatment in the execution of their offices. Doing so, we contribute to a growing literature on the marginalization of women in legislative institutions. On a more general level, our results inform a research program on gendered power inequities by studying differences in legislative behavior on the basis of observational data with an unprecedented scope. Methodologically, the study adds to an emerging literature that uses computer vision for political science research.