Moving on Up? The Gendered Ambitions of State-Level Appointed Officials

Abstract

Many scholars have offered explanations as to why women are underrepresented at all levels of government. Conventional wisdom states that fewer women are in public office due to lower ambition, and that the presence of gendered perceptions among women considering elected office contributes to women’s disinterest in the political arena. Using original survey data, this article expands the theory of gendered perceptions to current state-level appointed officeholders to explain their levels of interest in pursuing higher public office. The results indicate that gendered perceptions affect the progressive ambitions of appointees; like studies of ambition in elected officials, this study of appointed officials finds that women are generally less ambitious, and unlike studies of ambition in elected officials, this study of appointed officials finds that women with higher self-assessments are less ambitious rather than more.

Religious Adherence, Women-Friendliness, and Representation in American State Legislatures

“…Practically speaking, women are more likely than men to begin their political careers in local or state offices (Palmer and Simon 2003; Sidorsky 2015; Scott 2018). This occurs primarily because men and women enter politics for different reasons.…”

Pipeline or Pipedream: Gender Balance Legislation’s Effect on Women’s Presence in State Government

“…The board positions could be seen as an ineffective route to office. Alternatively, gendered perceptions of qualifications may keep women serving on state boards from expressing progressive ambition to run for state legislative office (Sidorsky 2015). Second, GBL itself could be ineffective at bringing more women onto state boards.…”

“…Likewise, Sidorsky surveyed appointed board members to explore progressive ambition of women appointed to state boards. She found that 38% of males and 33% of females are somewhat or very interested in pursuing elected office, suggesting some progressive ambition for board members (Sidorsky 2015). If state boards are a jumping point for women to run for higher state offices, and GBL inspires more women to join these boards, then we can expect more women to run for state office in states who passed GBL.…”