This story is about technology, gender, and political representation---and about how a machine in the cowshed could shape who sits at the table in local government.

Milking machines did not just save time. They changed the gender division of labor and who had the opportunity to work outside the farms, and they even opened new possibilities for women to join local politics.

Our key finding: In places where milking machines spread, more women entered local councils.

We study whether this gender-biased, labor-saving innovation contributed to women’s political representation. Women’s council share was <10% in the 1950s, doubled by the 1970s, & kept rising toward 40% by the 2000s.

His grandfather wasn’t alone. Across the world, women used to milk cows—the most time-consuming dairy task. But once machines arrived, men often took over.

“Your grandmother had too much free time after we got the milking machine; she started doing silly things, like joining the Center Party women’s organization,” he said.

Some years ago, Jaakko’s late grandfather told him a story. On their farm in Haapavesi, Finland, milking cows by hand had long been his grandmother’s job. But when the family bought a milking machine, something changed: the men took over milking.