Correlates of Female Office Holding in City Politics

Welch, Susan; Karnig, Albert K.

doi:10.2307/2129774

Cited by 72 publications

(44 citation statements)

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“…Because women tended not to work in the fields of law and business—fields from which most congressional and state legislative candidates emerge—they often lacked the objective qualifications and economic autonomy to pursue elective office (Welch 1977). Political scientists also focused on structural barriers, most notably the incumbency advantage, which inhibited electoral opportunities for previously excluded groups such as women (Studlar and Welch 1990; Welch and Karnig 1979). Finally, scholars posited a broad socialization explanation for women's underrepresentation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Fox¹,

Lawless²

2010

American Journal of Political Science

174

120

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Based on the second wave of the Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study, we provide the first thorough analysis of how gender affects women and men's efficacy to run for office. Our findings reveal that, despite comparable credentials, backgrounds, and experiences, accomplished women are substantially less likely than similarly situated men to perceive themselves as qualified to seek office. Importantly, women and men rely on the same factors when evaluating themselves as candidates, but women are less likely than men to believe they meet these criteria. Not only are women more likely than men to doubt that they have skills and traits necessary for electoral politics, but they are also more likely to doubt their abilities to engage in campaign mechanics. These findings are critical because the perceptual differences we uncover account for much of the gender gap in potential candidates' self-efficacy and ultimately hinder women's prospects for political equality.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Fox¹,

Lawless²

2010

American Journal of Political Science

174

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Separate analyses are conducted for county offices and those for higher positions, since it has been suggested that women encounter greater problems when seeking more desirable offices (Darcy, Welch, and Clark 1987;Diamond 1977;Welch and Karnig 1979). The implications of the desirability thesis for this paper are that women will encounter greater problems in being nominated for higher offices than for county offices.…”

Section: The Datamentioning

confidence: 95%

Female Candidate Success in Runoff Primaries

Bullock

Maggiotto

2003

Women & Politics

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This paper explores the impact of the runoff primary on women's success in gaining nominations for statewide and local offices in a single state. It relies on data from a generation of primaries to test the Jackson-Smeal proposition that runoff elections disadvantage women. This intensive examination allows us to control for the political context, yet map the changes associated with the maturing of female candidacies in a traditionalistic political culture. When controls for incumbency status and success in the initial primary are included, women typically fare no worse in runoffs than do men. Nor do runoffs disadvantage women seeking higher office.

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“…Counties should become more likely to elect women to public office as the proportion college graduates rises. Past research on the effect of income on the election of women has similarly argued that higher incomes indicate a more egalitarian attitude on the part of constituents in the district or county (Darcy, Welch, and Clark, 1987, 1994; Rule, 1981; Karnig and Welch, 1970; Welch and Karnig, 1979). We contend that income may more accurately serve as a measure of office desirability as opposed to a measure of more egalitarian attitudes.…”

Section: Theory and Model Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Continuing Dominance of Traditional Gender Roles in Southern Elections^*

Lublin

Brewer

2003

Social Science Quarterly

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Objective. Studies of the election of women to public office have been increasingly encouraging about their prospects of female candidates. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which gender roles continue to influence the election of women to local office and the pool of candidates for higher office. Methods. Utilizing data on the gender of officials, the nature of the office, and constituency demographics from county elections in eight Southern states, we construct logit models of the election of women. Results. Women hold few local offices involved in fighting crime or of an executive nature. On the other hand, women routinely win election to process-oriented offices with less discretion. Our analysis of constituency demographics reinforces our conclusions. Women win election in areas where the public office is relatively undesirable compared to other opportunities and the ratio of high-quality male to high-quality female candidates is relatively low. Conclusions. Although the frequent election of women to county office provides an expanded pool of female candidates for higher offices, it seems unlikely that women will find it as easy to move up the electoral ladder into the more competitive arena of high-profile statewide and federal leadership offices.

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Correlates of Female Office Holding in City Politics

Cited by 72 publications

References 0 publications

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Female Candidate Success in Runoff Primaries

The Continuing Dominance of Traditional Gender Roles in Southern Elections^*

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Correlates of Female Office Holding in City Politics

Cited by 72 publications

References 0 publications

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Female Candidate Success in Runoff Primaries

The Continuing Dominance of Traditional Gender Roles in Southern Elections*

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Product

Resources

About

The Continuing Dominance of Traditional Gender Roles in Southern Elections^*