Electing Women of Color: The Role of Campaign Trainings

Abstract

The increasing racial diversity of women in the United States makes the underrepresentation of women of color in politics an important area for research. To better understand the reasons for the underrepresentation of women of color and how more women of color might be elected in the future, this article presents a case study of a unique campaign training program designed for women of color. The program is the Center for American Women and Politics' (CAWP) New Jersey Ready to Run ® Diversity Initiative. Campaign trainings have proliferated in recent years and seem to play a disproportionate role in women's election to office. By examining perceptions of the barriers facing women of color and by identifying the mechanisms by which the Diversity Initiative seeks to help women, this article sheds light on the status of women candidates of color and the role of campaign trainings more generally. For political practitioners, this article suggests the utility of creating programs for women of color.

Women’s Representation and the Gendered Pipeline to Power

“…There is substantial evidence across studies that recruitment and support from party and community leaders is a crucial mechanism for the advancement of women in politics. Candidate training programs have emerged within the United States and abroad to help translate women's political interest into candidacies (Kreitzer and Osborn 2019;Piscopo 2019;Sanbonmatsu 2015). These efforts are invaluable for encouraging the near runners to throw their hats in the ring.…”

Clear as Black and White: The Effects of Ambiguous Rhetoric Depend on Candidate Race

“…Finally, although we focus on black male candidates, a literature on the intersection of race and gender suggests that these could play a joint role in responses to candidate rhetoric (Philpot and Walton 2007). Research on the electoral fates of black women suggests that in certain electoral contexts black women candidates may be more likely to be successful than black men (Smooth 2010;Sanbonmatsu 2015); in other electoral contexts, however, black women may face even greater barriers to victory than black men (Michener et al 2012). In our view, these findings further underscore the importance of studying the effects of rhetoric in conjunction with candidate characteristics.…”

The Party's Primary Preferences: Race, Gender, and Party Support of Congressional Primary Candidates

“…Moreover, both women and minorities may be perceived as less electable (Doherty, Dowling, and Miller forthcoming; Gimenez et al. ) However, recent work has highlighted efforts to make groups seeking better representation of women and minorities more central within the party (Crowder‐Meyer and Cooperman ; Herndon ; Sanbonmatsu ).…”

“…Some work has hypothesized that the negative effects of both race and gender are combined to disadvantage minority women candidates (Githens and Prestage ). Descriptive work examining where minority women are seeking office at the state legislative level shows that while minority women are often successful when they run for office, far fewer actually seek office (Shah, Scott, and Juenke ), and that minority women do not feel supported by party networks (Sanbonmatsu ). Thus, another plausible hypothesis is that minority women may be treated differently than white women by party institutions.…”