The Impact of Presidentas on Political Activity

Reyes-Housholder, Catherine; Schwindt‐Bayer, Leslie A.

doi:10.2307/j.ctvrdf3zm.10

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Implications are far-reaching and troubling. The mere presence of women in politics is thought to erode traditional beliefs about women’s inability to govern, and chief executives, positioned in the highest offices and attracting the most media attention, may exert the strongest symbolic effects (Franceschet, Annesley, and Beckwith 2017; Reyes-Housholder and Schwindt-Bayer 2016). However, if citizens perceive female presidents as less “successful” than male presidents—particularly on corruption issues where citizens thought these women would be more effective—public support for women in politics may erode.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Reyes-Housholder

2019

Political Research Quarterly

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Reyes-Housholder

2019

Political Research Quarterly

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Increasing the representation of women also offers some potential to revitalize democratic politics. There is evidence, for example, that the presence of women leaders increases women’s levels of political activity and voting (Alexander and Jalalzai 2014; Reyes-Householder and Schwindt-Bayer 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engendering the ‘Crisis of Democracy’: Institutions, Representation and Participation

Waylen¹

2015

Gov. & oppos.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many democracies are widely perceived to be suffering a serious crisis of representation, participation and legitimacy. As part of this 'crisis', the male domination of democracy -both in terms of its institutions and who participates -has been identified as problematic, even emblematic, of a more generalized democratic crisis. Increasing the participation of women is advocated as one solution. Using examples drawn from both long-standing and newer democracies (parliamentary and presidential), particularly from Europe and Latin America, this article explores the gender dynamics of the 'crisis of democracy'. The 'crisis' has two gendered aspects. First, and paradoxically, although democracy still privileges predominantly white, elite, heterosexual, men, more women now participate in democratic institutions, leading to claims that the 'male monopoly' has ended (Dahlerup and Leyenaar 2013). Second, the 'crisis of democracy' may provide opportunities to further enhance women's participation, as the demands of those favouring greater gender equality and those looking for solutions to the 'crisis' appear to coincide.Many democracies have been undergoing significant changes in the last few decades and are widely perceived to be suffering a serious crisis of representation, participation and legitimacy. As evidence that something has gone badly wrong with democracy, The Economist (2014) claims that first, democracy has not proved as easy to 'transplant' as expected (as shown by the experience of Iraq and recently democratized countries such as South Africa) and second, the dysfunctional elements of long-standing democracies such as gridlock in the US, disillusionment in the EU together with the impact of globalization, the power of the banks and international financial institutions (IFIs) have led to voter disengagement and lack of trust in politicians, in combination with important changes in party and party systems. Academics argue that many of these trends are visible

show abstract

“…Mediating factors such as gender and party affiliation affect who feels symbolic representation and how strongly from descriptive representation (Verge and Pastor 2018). The presence of women in politics increases women's likelihood of discussing politics, contacting officials, participating in protests, and running for office (Barnes and Burchard 2013;Dittmar, Sanbonmatsu, and Carroll 2018;Reyes-Housholder and Schwindt-Bayer 2016). Women leaders become positive role models for women and girls (Beaman et al 2012;Campbell and Wolbrecht 2006;Liu and Banaszak 2017), and a female president empowers female parliamentarians (Wahman, Frantzeskakis, and Yildirim 2021), although such a role-model effect tends to decrease over time (Beauregard 2018;Gilardi 2015).…”

Section: Effect Of Descriptive Representation On Symbolic Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the number of female leaders has increased, scholarly attention to them has also grown. Recent studies have focused mainly on the positions that women tend to assume (Jalalzai 2013), the conditions enabling them to reach those positions (Beckwith 2015;Genovese and Steckenrider 2013;Jalalzai 2013), and the policies they promote and implement (Jalalzai 2019;Reyes-Housholder 2016;Reyes-Housholder and Schwindt-Bayer 2016). These leaders improve people's perceptions of women as competent leaders (Alexander 2012;Alexander and Coffe 2018;Jalalzai 2016), as recent global attention to female leaders' performance during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown (Johnson and Williams 2020; but see Piscopo 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Trailblazer or a Barrier? Dynastic Politics and Symbolic Representation of the First Female President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye

Lee

2022

Pol & Gen

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What is the impact on symbolic representation of female leaders who are seen as failures? Do women from political dynasties elicit symbolic representation? I answer these questions by analyzing how Park Geun-hye’s election as the first woman president of South Korea and her subsequent impeachment shaped voters’ perceptions of women’s potential and contribution as political leaders. Utilizing an original survey and focus groups, I argue that South Korean voters overall did not recognize Park’s election as the country’s first female president as a symbol of women’s political empowerment because of her dynastic background and her failure to promote women-friendly policies. Although she received credit for being the historic first, women across the political spectrum were concerned that the epic failure of the first female president would reinforce voters’ reluctance to vote for women. This study emphasizes the importance of adopting an intersectional approach in studying symbolic representation.

show abstract

The Impact of Presidentas on Political Activity

Cited by 9 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

Engendering the ‘Crisis of Democracy’: Institutions, Representation and Participation

A Trailblazer or a Barrier? Dynastic Politics and Symbolic Representation of the First Female President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About