A Tough Woman Around Gentle Men: Dilma Rousseff and the Gendered Double Bind

• In Event: Brazil in Perspective

Abstract

The end of the presidency of Brazil’s first woman elected to the position ended in a controversial form. The 2016 impeachment of Dilma Rousseff was seen as a coup by her supporters and as a necessary step for Brazil by her detractors. With the Brazilian economy facing its worst recession in history and the Car Wash corruption scandal ravaging the political class, questions about Rousseff’s leadership style and abilities became an important aspect of debates surrounding her impeachment. How much of the criticism about Rousseff’s leadership is warranted? How much of this criticism can be attributed to gendered subjective understandings of what makes a good leader? This paper investigates the ways in which Dilma Rousseff experienced a gendered double bind (traits that require more investment and are associated to different burdens for members of non-dominant groups) during her six years as Brazil’s president. Building on the growing literature on women in executive positions and expanding on the scholarship on the double bind in business and politics, this paper argues that while Rousseff’s presidency was riddled with issues, the president’s leadership style and abilities were scrutinized in distinct gendered ways. Relying on ninety interviews with political elites in five different Brazilian states conducted in 2017 and 2018, this paper uses thematic content analysis of interview transcripts to develop arguments related to Rousseff’s perceived competency, perceived incompetence, and perceived political acumen. We hypothesize that political elites, including those involved in the feminist movement and members of Rousseff’s own political party, will directly compare Rousseff’s leadership style to that of former president Lula. Moreover, we hypothesize that respondents’ opinions about Rousseff’s presidency and their views on her leadership abilities will be interpreted through gendered lenses that subtly and overtly judge her presidency more harshly, indicating the presence of views that reinforce the gendered double bind.

Authors

• Pedro G. dos Santos, College of Saint Benedict

• Brianna Elise Kreft, College of Saint Benedict and St. John's University

• Brigid Mary Smith

• Lizbet Brianna Martinez-Port

• Farida Jalalzai, Virginia Tech