When does gender matter? : women candidates and gender stereotypes in American elections / Kathleen Dolan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dolan, Kathleen A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women in public life--United States.

Women in public life.

Women political candidates--United States.

Women political candidates.

Women politicians--United States.

Women politicians.

Sex role--Political aspects.

United States.

Women--Political activity--United States.

Women.

Women--Political activity.

Sex role--Political aspects--United States.

Sex role.

Elections--United States.

Elections.

United States--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xiv, 245 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2014]

Summary:

"As the number of women candidates for office in the U.S. increases each election cycle, scholars are confronted with questions about the impact of their sex on their chances of success. Chief among these questions involves the influence of gender stereotypes on the decisions voters make in elections in which women run against men. Previous research documents that voters see women and men as possessing different character traits and different abilities to handle policy issues. These findings, combined with anecdotal evidence of sexist attitudes toward women candidates, raises concerns that women candidates are hampered by their sex and gender considerations. Employing data from an original survey of 3150 U.S. adults conducted in 2010, this book confronts scholarly concerns that gender stereotypes work to undermine women's chances of success. Challenging the conventional wisdom, these data demonstrate that voters do not rely heavily on gender stereotypes when evaluating and voting for women candidates. Voters do hold gendered attitudes, both positive and negative, about women candidates, but these attitudes are not related to the political decisions voters make. Instead, in deciding for whom to vote, people are influenced by traditional political forces, like political party and incumbency, regardless of the sex of the candidates. There is also evidence that partisan stereotypes interact with gender stereotypes to influence reactions to candidates, both women and men, depending on their political party. In the end, this project demonstrates that women candidates win as often as do men and that partisan concerns trump gender every time"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Candidate Sex and Gender Stereotypes in American Elections

Studying Gender Stereotypes and Women Candidates

Attitudes, Stereotypes, and Support for Women Candidates

Do Stereotypes Shape Evaluations of Candidates?

The Role of Stereotypes in Vote Choice Decisions

Gender Stereotypes in Other Places? Candidate Quality and Issue Campaigns

The Landscape for Women Candidates

Appendix A : Candidate Lists

Appendix B : Variable Construction

Appendix C : Campaign Ads and Websites

Appendix D : Survey Instrument

Appendix E : Additional Vote Choice Analysis.

Machine generated contents note:

Acknowledgements

List of Figures and Tables

Chapter 1

Candidate Sex and Gender Stereotypes in American Elections

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Stereotypes in Other Places? Candidate Quality and Issue Campaigns

Chapter 7

Appendix A

Candidate Lists

Appendix B

Variable Construction

Appendix C

Campaign Ads and Websites

Appendix D

Survey Instrument

Appendix E

Additional Vote Choice Analysis

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199968282

0199968284

9780199968275

0199968276

OCLC:

881030680