It Takes a Survey

Abstract

A significant body of previous research demonstrates that the public holds stereotyped views about the abilities and personal traits of women and men who run for office. However, because much of this work is based on experimental designs or hypothetical candidates, we have relatively little information about whether and how gender stereotypes matter in real election situations. In an effort to determine whether people draw on stereotypes in evaluating women in political life, we use data from a survey of people who experienced races for the U.S. House in 2010 in which women candidates ran against men. We analyze two sets of dependent variables—(a) abstract attitudes about women and men as candidates and officeholders and (b) vote choice in the actual House elections. In line with previous experimental work, we find that gender stereotypes are important to people’s abstract evaluations of candidates and election situations. However, we find little evidence that gender stereotypes matter to the same degree in shaping vote choice decisions involving actual candidates.

A Survey Experiment on “Bad Bosses”: The Effect of Social Networks on Gender Solidarity

“…And when you're in a female-dominated profession, there are fewer people that have the ability to match it." 7 Within the political representation scholarship, we also find the conventional wisdom that candidates are perceived (and might be rewarded) differently according to their gender (Huddy and Terkildsen 1993;Sanbonmatsu 2002;Thames and Williams 2010;Dolan and Lynch 2014). Often, when it comes to the leadership traits that appeal to voters, female politicians seem to be judged by a different standard than male ones.…”

“…SeeSanbonmatsu 2002; Thames and Williams 2010; and Dolan and Lynch 2014. 9 Again, findings are mixed (seeLawless and Fox 2005;and Dolan and Lynch 2014) and reinforce our expectation that the question should be settled through a survey experiment.…”

“…(Lawless 2004, 479-480) Similarly, Rudman and Glick (1999) find empirical evidence that when management jobs are "feminized" (i.e., described with stereotypical female characteristics) women who do not live up to those criteria are punished more than their male counterparts. Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten (2009) and Dolan and Lynch (2014) advance and test explanations of an evaluation gap based on context. Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten (2009) find that a country's "Most Important Problem," such as the threat of terrorism, determines whether voters will prefer male or female candidates, according to the particular gender stereotypes that are associated with the resolution of the problem.…”

“…Indeed, a wealth of studies in the social sciences point to differences in the way women and men are rewarded and punished (Rudman and Glick 1999;Lawless 2004;Weikart et al 2007;Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten 2009;Mendez and Osborn 2010;Dolan and Lynch 2014;Esarey and Chirillo 2013;Morgan and Buice 2013). Overwhelmingly, the scholarship focuses on the different conditions under which gender stereotypes shape individuals' perceptions and evaluations (Rudman and Glick 1999;Lawless 2004;Weikart et al 2007;Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten 2009;Mendez and Osborn 2010;Abers and Keck 2013;Dolan and Lynch 2014;Morgan and Buice 2013). Few examine how men and women, as evaluators, differ in the normative assessments they make (Eckel and Grossman 1996;Andreoni and Vesterlund 2001;Eckel and Grossman 2008;Esarey andChirillo 2013, Barnes andBeaulieu 2014).…”

“…In an interesting twist, when the authors showed pictures of the candidates that were not prototypically gender-based, the gender effect disappeared(Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten 2009). 11Like Lammers, Gordijn, and Otten (2009),Dolan and Lynch (2014) do not find evidence that gender stereotypes matter to voters' evaluation of real candidates all of the time.12 The survey was implemented by the PASCAL research center of the University of San Martín (Argentina) between December 2014 and March 2015. Our survey experiment was part of a five-question module attached to the General Survey for Media and TV Consumption (GSMTVC).…”