Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians

Abstract

One explanation for the dearth of women in elected office is that voters stereotype candidates based on their gender. Research in this vein often assumes that female candidates will be stereotyped similarly to women (e.g., as compassionate) and measures stereotypes as such. We question this assumption, proposing instead that female politicians constitute a subtype-a new stereotypical category with its own qualities-of the broader group of women. We compare the content of female politician stereotypes to other relevant comparison groups including politicians, male politicians, and female professionals. Using a classic methodology to determine stereotype content (Katz & Braly, 1933), we find that female politicians do not share the qualities that are ascribed to women (e.g., warm, empathetic). Our results show that female politicians seem to be "losing" on male stereotypical qualities while also not having any advantage on qualities typical of women. The content of female politician stereotypes is nebulous and lacks clarity in comparison to all other groups examined. We discuss implications for the future measurement of politician stereotypes.

Corruption and Sexual Scandal: The Importance of Politician Gender

“…United States versus Poland). However, in the neutral condition, we found sex differences in morality assessments similar to these reported by Kahn (1992) and Schneider and Bos (2014). Cultural context did not influence the expectations toward women and men in politics, but it influenced the impact of scandal involvement on assessment.…”

“…Gender stereotypes do not directly affect women's electability and expectations toward women and men in politics are quite similar (Brook, 2014;Dolan, 2014) and stereotypes of women (but not men) in politics are different from general gender stereotypes (Schneider & Bos, 2014). Despite this recently described lack of overt prejudice toward women in politics, the question whether women and men involved in political scandals are assessed in similar ways is still worth of investigation..…”

“…Additionally, we included assessments of morality and competence as dependent variables due to their importance in shaping people's perceptions of politicians (Brambilla et al, 2011;Wojciszke & Klusek, 1996) including gender stereotypes in politics, as competence, integrity and having moral traits have been seen as important in assessing politicians (Schneider & Bos, 2014). Last, we included assessment of electoral chances and assessment of the extent to which politician could represent voters' interests, as both variables are important when considering politician sex.…”

Can experience overcome stereotypes in times of terror threat?

“…Absent other information, many assume that male politicians are more capable of handling issues related to security, such as war, military affairs, foreign policy, terrorism, and crime (e.g. Huddy and Terkildsen, 1993;Holman et al, 2016; but see Schneider and Bos, 2014).…”

Frozen in Time: How Disney Gender-Stereotypes Its Most Powerful Princess

“…Although Elsa's struggles as an outsider make her appealing, her inability to control her emotions (especially fear and anger) reflects the risks of mixing power with female volatility. This flaw conforms to stereotypes of women as temperamental (Feder 2014;Plant et al 2000;Schneider and Bos 2014) and even brings to mind the rage of Stephen King's Carrie who is set off by overpowering surges of emotion (Foundas 2013), characteristics incompatible with ruling. While Elsa struggles with her cryokinetic competence, Anna must learn how to navigate relationships with men, and which men she can trust.…”