A Constituency Theory for the Conditional Impact of Female Presidents

Reyes-Housholder, Catherine

doi:10.5129/001041519x15647434969939

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Research on the performance of female chief executives has examined whether they name more women ministers, promote more pro-women policies, and issue fewer unilateral decrees (O’Brien et al 2015; Reyes-Housholder 2016, 2019; Shair-Rosenfield and Stoyan 2018). Some work suggests that female presidents score lower in public opinion surveys (Carlin, Carreras, and Love forthcoming; Reyes-Housholder and Thomas 2018), but scholars have yet to systematically theorize and probe relationships connecting presidents’ gender, corruption scandals, and approval ratings.…”

Section: Existing Research On Gender Ratings and Corruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The next section illustrates the theory’s mechanics on the presidencies of Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, which constitute a prominent, if not crucial, case study in the literature on female chief executives (Jalalzai 2016; Reyes-Housholder 2016, 2019; Waylen 2016). Her 2006 election marked the beginning of a string of presidenta victories in Latin America.…”

Section: A Theory Of Gender’s Role On Presidential Approval Ratings Imentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Theory of Gender’s Role on Presidential Approval Ratings in Corrupt Times

Reyes-Housholder

2019

Political Research Quarterly

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The rise of female chief executives appears to signal gender progress, but this may not be unequivocally so. This article advances a contextual theory for the role of gender on leaders’ approval ratings, a key measure of “success” and source of executive power. I argue that because of gendered expectations and discourse, female presidents will receive lower approval ratings in contexts of corruption. The study focuses on Latin America, known for its powerful, masculinist presidential regimes and its democratically elected female leaders. I first trace the gendered construction of President Michelle Bachelet’s image as an honest mother. Upon a presidential scandal, higher standards and gendered discourse resulted in deeply disappointed citizens, significantly undermining her popularity. Models of eighteen Latin American countries next reveal a negative impact of being a female—rather than a male—president on approval ratings. Marginal effects plots show that female presidents score worse than their male counterparts in contexts of at least one presidential scandal and higher executive corruption. This article contributes to the growing literature on gender and corruption. It also challenges some conventional wisdom on the pro-women consequences of female leadership in providing a more nuanced account of the role of gender in the executive branch.

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Section: Existing Research On Gender Ratings and Corruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Theory Of Gender’s Role On Presidential Approval Ratings Imentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theory of Gender’s Role on Presidential Approval Ratings in Corrupt Times

Reyes-Housholder

2019

Political Research Quarterly

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“…Based on the commission's findings, Bachelet proposed a modest electoral reform package, including a 30-percent quota (Batlle and Roque López, 2018). Bachelet herself supported the quota (Thomas, 2019), likely an extension of her campaign promises to deliver pro-women change (Reyes-Housholder 2018, 2019). As a woman member of Bachelet's cabinet explained: “In 2007, we presented a gender quota law with an economic incentive [for parties to nominate women] and sanctions….…”

Section: The Initial Absence Of Serial Replacement In Chilementioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from a Late Adopter: Feminist Advocacy, Democratizing Reforms, and Gender Quotas in Chile

Piscopo,

Thomas,

Siavelis

et al. 2023

Journal of Politics in Latin America

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Many Latin American and other Global South countries adopted gender quotas during democratic transitions. What explains late-adopting cases like Chile? We analyze two instances: the 2015–2016 electoral reforms, which finally introduced a 40-percent gender quota, and the 2020–2023 constitutional process, which introduced gender parity. Using a qualitative analysis that draws on 39 elite interviews, we posit that efforts to redesign national political institutions in order to address democratic deficits create transition-like moments. In turn, these moments create windows of opportunity for quota advocates. We show how quota advocates in the parties, congress, and civil society leveraged growing voter discontent to pressure their resistant colleagues and ultimately secure gender quotas (and later gender parity) as part of larger reform efforts. Our analysis of the Chilean case elevates two factors explaining quota adoption: the long arc of democratization and women's role as protagonists in electoral reforms.

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“…Bachelet utilized her strategic powers of recruitment and appointment to ensure that in important areas of her reform program, like health, pensions, and childcare, the key ministers and high-level officials shared her views on positive gender change. Many of these critical gender actors were longtime friends and members of her campaign team (dubbed Bachelemenas by the media), drawn from her personal constituency of elite feminists (Reyes-Housholder 2019).…”

Section: Critical Actors Change Mechanisms and Gendered Policy Refomentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional Change in Constrained Circumstances: Gender, Resistance, and Critical Actors in the Chilean Executive

Staab¹,

Waylen²

2020

Lat Am Polit Soc

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Because gender equality actors rarely have sufficient power to create new institutions, this article asks how they can achieve positive gender change in constrained circumstances when the creation of new rules is not possible. Building on a feminist institutionalist approach to analyzing gendered institutional dynamics, power, and resistance, we open the “black box” of one executive: Michelle Bachelet’s first presidency in Chile (2006–10). Using theory-guided process tracing and primarily qualitative data, we examine key reforms in three policy areas—health, pensions, and childcare—that were central to Bachelet’s first program. By analyzing how efforts to incorporate positive gender change fared differently in each area, this study shows how far utilizing, subverting, or converting existing rules—more “hidden” forms of change, often away from legislatures—can be effective, if limited, strategies when gender equality advocates face resistance.

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A Constituency Theory for the Conditional Impact of Female Presidents

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

A Theory of Gender’s Role on Presidential Approval Ratings in Corrupt Times

A Theory of Gender’s Role on Presidential Approval Ratings in Corrupt Times

Lessons from a Late Adopter: Feminist Advocacy, Democratizing Reforms, and Gender Quotas in Chile

Institutional Change in Constrained Circumstances: Gender, Resistance, and Critical Actors in the Chilean Executive

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