Female Presidents in Latin America: Party Incentives versus Governing Norms?

• In Event: Female Leaders, Male Privilege: Feminist Institutional Analyses of the Executive

Abstract

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that voters tend to support presidential candidates with personal traits stereotypically linked to biological males (strength and determination), and therefore, parties make a rational choice when they nominate men rather than women. To the contrary, because norms and expectations for presidents are evolving, voters sometimes prefer presidential candidates with personal qualities that are stereotypically feminine. Moreover, certain gender stereotypes coupled with representational critiques have motivated political parties to nominate women for president. These findings are based on original experimental and historical evidence from Latin America, a region that once led the world in electing female presidents. At the same time, the party’s rational choice to select women for their feminine attributes does not necessarily ensure that, once elected, female leaders can satisfy the masculine expectations of executives that persist. As a result, this paper also considers whether the party incentives that favor female candidates complement or conflict with governing norms that continue to privilege men in office.

Author

• Catherine Reyes-Housholder, Universidad Diego Portales