An Improved Measure of Gender Bias Against Political Leaders

• In Event: Representation and Candidate Selection

Abstract

Do female political leaders get more scrutinised for bad performance than their male equivalents? An influential part of the current gender politics literature suggests that this is the case. We propose that we improve the existing measure of gender bias by using daily polling data in 11 developed democracies to test whether women party leaders lose or gain more voter support after an election than men, holding the electoral performance of the party constant. The use of polling data further allows us to test whether the source of potential comes from the voters (demand side), and not from the leader selection process within the party (supply side). The existence of gender bias against political leaders has important equilibrium implications for the representation of women in political office and other leadership positions.

Authors

• Selina Hofstetter, Stanford University

• Salomo Hirvonen, University of Bristol