Light in the midst of chaos: COVID-19 and female political representation

Abstract

The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women are global policy priorities across countries and development institutions. Research on gender and politics shows that exceptional environments can activate stereotypes of women as honest, trustworthy, and competent lawmakers in public health and, in doing so, can generate increased public support for female political candidates. We argue that the 2019–2020 Coronavirus Pandemic has the potential to produce this outcome, as recent public opinion polls highlight widespread discontent with male-led governments’ responses to the pandemic and elevated concerns surrounding public health. Recent positive media reports of female world leaders’ responses to the pandemic provide further reason to suspect a forthcoming increase in political support for female candidates. We posit that such an outcome may prove essential not only for enhancing development and improving long-standing gender inequities but also for alleviating the pandemic’s disproportionately allocated hardships.

Support Extended to Women Ward Councillors by Stakeholders in South Africa

“…The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women is a global policy priority across countries and development institutions (Piazza & Diaz, 2020). The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (1979) calls on states to deal with the elimination of discrimination against women in all spheres of life (Democracy Reporting International, 2011).…”

Die Rolle der Medien in der COVID-19-Pandemie

“…Nach dem Vergleich der medialen Repräsentation der politischen Ausrichtung und der Wirkung dieser auf die Berichterstattung und Meinungsbildung soll abschließend in diesem Kapitel auf die Geschlechterverteilung der medial repräsentierten Akteurinnen und Akteure eingegangen werden. Piazza und Dias nennen die generelle Annahme, dass weibliche Akteurinnen stereotypisiert sind [45]. Sie werden in der Öffentlichkeit als ehrlicher und vertrauenswürdiger wahrgenommen als männliche Akteure (auch bei Gesundheitsfragen).…”

Who is afraid of more women in politics, and why? An analysis of public opinion in 28 European countries

“…Research on female political leadership and representation has significantly expanded in the last decades, in parallel with the continuous increase in the election and appointment of women in political positions. Although the existing literature covers a wide variety of research approaches and theories, this review focuses on two major topics, which emerge repeatedly: gender-related prejudice against female leaders (Bauer, 2020;Dassonneville et al 2021;de Geus et al 2021;Eagly & Karau, 2002;Eagly, Wood & Diekman, 2000;Piazza & Diaz, 2020) and the gender affinity effect (Alexander, 2012;Alexander & Jalalzai, 2016;Beauregard, 2016;Bridgewater & Nagel, 2020;Dolan, 2008;Liu & Banaszak, 2017).…”

“…Women are associated with communal behavior focused on the wellbeing of other people, stemming from the domestic female role. Women are thus seen as having strong interpersonal and communication skills and as being more empathetic, compassionate, honest and trustworthy (Eagly & Karau, 2002;Piazza & Diaz, 2020). Conversely, men's adaptation to the employment role favors a pattern of association with agentic behaviors, including being more assertive and independent.…”

“…Most existing research has focused on identifying individual-level determinants of support for more women in politics (Alexander & Jalalzai, 2016;Beauregard, 2016;Bridgewater & Nagel, 2020). Based on general theories of gender-related prejudice (Bauer, 2020;Dassonneville et al 2021;de Geus et al 2021;Piazza & Diaz, 2020), role congruity (Bauer, 2015;2020;Eagly, Wood & Diekman, 2000) and gender affinity (Alexander, 2012;Bridgewater & Nagel, 2020;Dolan, 2008), we know that females, younger and more educated people are more likely to support wider participation of women in politics. However, how country context moderates these effects and how exactly gender stereotypes mediate them has remained insufficiently studied.…”