Gender and Children's Perceptions of Leadership in Nigeria

• In Event: Evaluations of Political Leaders from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Around the world, women are underrepresented in positions of political power. Recent studies suggest that as children learn about politics and see the predominance of men in office, they internalize gender norms to believe that men make “natural” political leaders (Bos et al 2022, Santhanagopalan 2022). This may be based in part on the absence of information about women as political leaders, historically or in contemporary politics (Lay et al 2020). The consequences of internalizing gendered beliefs about who is suitable for leadership positions may mean depressed political ambition among young women and girls and the perpetuation of women’s underrepresentation in elected office.

Building on this scholarship, this paper examines whether and how children’s perceptions of political leadership is gendered in Nigeria. Nigeria has a history of women leaders but currently has one of the lowest percentages of women in the legislature in Africa. Further, in recent years, feminists in Nigeria have called for the adoption of gender quotas to address women’s underrepresentation (Ako-Nai and Obamamoye 2018). These efforts have encountered stalling from political elites. The impact of gender quotas has been well documented by scholars (e.g., Franceschet, Krook, and Piscopo 2012, Okedele 2021), as has adult attitudes about gender quotas (e.g., Batista Pereira and Porto 2020). Yet, to our knowledge, there is no existing scholarship on children’s views on gender quotas. Thus, this study contributes to both the scholarship on gendered political socialization as well as the on the development of political attitudes on gender quotas.

To study children’s gendered perceptions of politics, we are conducting a survey among school children ages 6 to 12 in Ogun State, Nigeria in early 2023 that asks them to draw a political leader (similar to Bos et al 2022), to identify historical women and men leaders, and to answer opinion questions about gender quotas. We hypothesize that as children—including girls—become older and learn more about the political world, they are more likely to draw men leaders. We also hypothesize that children who have information about a prominent historical women leader are more likely to draw a woman leader. Finally, we hypothesize that girls are more likely to favor gender quotas than boys. Our results will have implications for scholars, policymakers, and educators interested in addressing gender gaps in governance. We expect data collection to be complete by May 2023 and plan to present initial findings at APSA.

Authors

• Adebusola Omotola Okedele

• Jill S. Greenlee, Brandeis University

• Alice Kang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln