Does female political representation under autocratic regimes have long-lasting effects on democratic politics? The presence of women in politics under autocratic regimes is not uncommon but previous studies have mostly studied female representation within regimes, overlooking the consequences female’s representation under autocracies might have after a democratic transition process. In this paper we explore whether the presence of women in local politics under the Franco autocratic regime in Spain, had an impact on women's presence in local politics once the democratic transition consolidated. We exploit a novel database from archival records detailing all women who were local councilors and mayors in the final years of the Francoist period. The results show that the presence of women local politicians under an autocratic regime paved the path for an early entry of women into democratic politics after the regime transition. The differential lasts for almost 20 years, initially driven by higher female presence in right-wing (authoritarian successor) parties, challenging the notion that left-wing parties are the first-movers in gender equality. Differences in gender representation were only attenuated when compulsory gender quotas were implemented.