Public Perceptions of Corruption and Approval Ratings of Female Politicians

• In Event: Gender in Comparative Politics

Abstract

The belief that women make less corrupt politicians than men is a deeply rooted and widespread notion among the public. Although the benevolent nature of this belief suggests that it might often benefit female politicians, it is likely that perceived transgressions by women might be punished more harshly than when involving men. This paper investigates whether corruption allegations are more harmful to the reputations of female than of male incumbents. The main hypothesis is that widespread gender stereotypes about women as less corrupt and more trustworthy politicians produce backlash against female politicians when those are perceived to be associated with acts of corruption. Since male politicians are perceived as less honest and trustworthy, voters do not hold them to the same standards.

The central notion in understanding this biased backlash effect among voters is the concept of benevolent sexism, which refers to the recognition of men’s dependence on women, gentler justifications for male dominance, and also to the idea that the groups are complementary. Rather than a straightforward derogatory view of women, benevolent sexism denotes a subtler and apparently positive set of feeling towards them. The belief that women make less corrupt politicians than men is a manifestation of benevolent sexism in the realm of politics. As such, it can have presumed positive direct effects on the approval ratings of female politicians. However, this seemingly positive view can elicit stronger backlash towards females that are perceived as deviating from the stereotype. Based on this perspective, the present paper discusses and tests two main hypotheses: 1) that voters’ evaluations of female public officials will be more affected by their perceptions of corruption than voters’ evaluations of male public officials; and 2) that this differential backlash effect will be stronger among voters with higher levels of benevolent sexism.

In order to assess these claims, I first analyze survey data on perception of corruption and approval ratings of incumbents in 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from 2004 to 2014. I show that while perceptions of corruption have an overall negative effect on approval ratings of incumbents in the region, the effect is stronger among respondents from countries with female incumbents. Then I look at surveys from Belize (male incumbent) and Brazil (female incumbent) in order to show that benevolent sexism plays a moderating role in the effect of perception of corruption on incumbent’s approval. Using a scale of benevolent sexism, I show that the overall negative effect of perception of corruption on presidential/prime ministerial approval is strong in Brazil (female incumbent) and not observed Belize (male incumbent). Then I show that, in Brazil, the effect is only observed for respondents scoring higher values in the benevolent sexism scale.

In order to properly isolate the hypothesized causal relationship that is observed in the survey data, I then turn to a survey experiment conducted in Brazil and Mexico. The experiments exposure subjects to corruption allegations involving either a male or a female politician. The design tests whether subjects react more negatively to corruption allegations involving a female compared to a male politician, and also whether benevolent sexists are more prone to that effect.

The findings in the paper show that a seemingly harmless gender stereotype in politics – according to which women are more honest and trustworthy than men – conceals an insidious side. The research also has broader implications for the performance of women in office. Given the worldwide trend of increasing female representation observed in more recent times, a new relevant set of concerns regards whether obstacles for women and other underrepresented groups to reach office are different from the obstacles they face to stay in office. Therefore, understanding the more subtle sources of backlash effects against women in political positions becomes crucial in devising strategies to promote gender political equality.

Author

• Frederico Batista Pereira, University of North Carolina at Charlotte