Gender and politics: The relevance of gender on judgements about the merit of candidates and the fairness of quotas

Abstract

Drawing on the conceptualization of meritocracy as an illusion, we argue that perceptions of merit and fairness of sex quotas in politics are influenced by gender ideology, specifically gender symbolical asymmetry, which equates men with individuals and the universal reference of 'person', and women with a sexed category. A total of 311 Portuguese participants read one of eight scenarios manipulating the sex and political competence of two candidates for an electoral list where only one would be selected.According to the experimental condition, either the female or the male candidate was presented as more competent or both candidates were presented as equally competent. In the control condition no such information was provided. Participants rated the merit of the selected candidate and the fairness of quotas. Results show that men take mostly only the candidates' competence information into consideration. Reflecting gender symbolic asymmetry women were also influenced by the fact that the selected candidate was male or female. Results are discussed in the light of the gender symbolic asymmetry model.

Experiences et strategies de femmes investies dans un “monde d’hommes”: le cas de la politique locale portugaise

“…Parmi toutes les controverses qu'a générées la question des quotas électoraux et de la parité en politique (Lépinard, 2007;Scott, 2005), l'argument du mérite continue à tenir une place prépondérante dans les discours des politiciens et du corps électoral: le mérite est une règle de justice prédominante dans nos sociétés (Young, 1990) que ces discours estiment contournée par les lois sur la parité ou les quotas (Santos, Amâncio et Alves, 2013). Cet argument insuffle l'idée que l'inclusion des femmes dans les listes électorales par les quotas péjorerait la qualité du travail politique, soit le niveau de compétence.…”

Tell Me Your Story: How Recruitment Practices Implementing Affirmative Action Laws May Undermine the Laws’ Goals

“…Previous scholars have discussed how the work of workers with disabilities is often imbued with too much "emotional management" and notions of generosity (Everaere 2010), which is dismissive and potentially harmful. Others have discussed how quotas lead to casting unsubstantiated doubts about beneficiaries' merits (Santos, Amâncio, and Alves 2013;Ovichegan 2015). This article has shown where some of these biases have emerged in the new recruitment rules designed after the quota because recruiters are approaching job applicants on a more personal level and framing their actions as both assessing and mentoring.…”

“…These findings are context specific, but they provide new theoretical insights to explain the paradox of how companies' diversity efforts have led to the recreation of workplace stratifications and overselectivity among minorities (Fishkin 2014;Sarfati 2014;Berrey 2015). This sheds light on the double penalty endured by minorities who are hired through these pipelines because of the invisibility of their disabilities; even if their recruitment was based on stricter criteria, employers still hint that their hiring was a "generosity" effort and that they might not be as "deserving" as other nonminority candidates (Everaere 2010;Santos, Amâncio, and Alves 2013;Ovichegan 2015).…”

The hegemonic gender order in politics

“…Recent research (Lasio and Serri, 2017; Lasio et al , 2018) has also showed how the resistance opposed in Italy to non heterosexual families reinforces normative standards on motherhood, thus contributing to maintain those asymmetries at the origin of women’s invisibility as active citizens (Amâncio and Oliveira, 2006). Women’s underrepresentation in politics reproduces the imbalanced and unequal gender relations (Lovenduski, 2001; Santos et al , 2013).…”

“…Women then, although they can rely on the same opportunity as men, are blocked by systems of exclusion rooted in the culture of many societies (Inglehart and Norris, 2003;Krook, 2010) and very often exclude themselves. Women's underrepresentation in politics reproduces the imbalanced and unequal gender relations (Lovenduski, 2001;Santos et al, 2013).…”