Selection and Self-Presentation: The Double Bind and Women's Representation

• In Event: Experimental Studies on the Grassroots Participation and Representation of Women

Abstract

The consensus in the gender and politics literature is that voter bias is not a leading cause for women’s underrepresentation. However, in this paper, we present two critiques of the existing research. First, most observational studies of vote choice have focused on races for relatively high-level offices like Congress and statewide office; we believe hides a gendered selection effect that happens in entry-level contests. Second, experimental studies of voter discrimination typically present respondents with identical candidate profiles in which the only thing that is altered is the candidate’s sex; this puts the empirical focus on sex discrimination, rather than gender discrimination against women with more feminine backgrounds and priorities. Together, these critiques lead us to hypothesize that voters do contribute to women’s underrepresentation, but they do so by favoring masculinity over femininity in entry-level political contests.

We have gathered two sets of data to test these hypotheses. First, we present unique observational data on the self-presentation of male and female candidates in entry level political contests. We find that while there are many similarities in the issues and qualifications they discuss, there are also distinct differences that mirror differences between men and women in the general public. And, women with more feminine self-presentation seem to be electorally disadvantaged. Second, we experimentally test whether a more feminine self-presentation harms female candidates. In a survey experiment of over 10,000 Republican activists, feminine women are seen as more likeable than masculine women; however, they are also seen as less competent. And while masculine women win at the same rates as men, feminine women are distinctly electorally disadvantaged. In short, we find that voter responses to the femininity/competence “double bind” (Jamieson 1995) contribute to women's underrepresentation.

Authors

• Jessica Robinson Preece, Brigham Young University

• Christopher F. Karpowitz, Brigham Young University

• Quin Monson, Brigham Young University

• Alejandra Gimenez, Stanford University