Gender biases and women’s political participation

Highly successful female role models empower women’s behavior in leadership tasks.

A study examined the effect of successful role models on women’s performance in a leadership task: giving a persuasive speech in front of an audience. When pictures of successful female role models Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton were displayed on the opposite wall, female participants displayed more empowered objective behavior (speaking time), which in turn extended to women being perceived as more empowered by external raters (perceived speech quality) and to women perceiving their own performance in a more positive light (self-evaluated performance). The pictures of successful women erased the gender disparity between men and women on these outcomes. This research underscores that highly successful and powerful female leaders can be inspirational role models for the female politicians that are at the start of their careers. 

Candidate's family status and negative campaign environment for female candidates create barriers for female politicians. 

A 2019 study in Malawi revealed that the family status of women and defamation against female candidates are the key factors that inhibit women’s political participation. The study showed that voters do not have an innate preference for male vs female candidates, but that voters prefer married candidates with young children; significantly fewer women with young children campaign than men. The study also shows  one consistent gender difference in self-reported campaign experiences: women candidates experienced extreme gender-based defamation, whereas men did not. These differences have led to a lack of female representation: in Malawi’s 2014 elections, women won only 12% of local council seats. The research highlights the importance of understanding gender biases in the electoral process that prohibit women from becoming viable candidates and participating meaningfully in political processes in developing countries.

Do you have a study we should share for a future Facty Friday? Send an email to drg.el@usaid.gov!