User:Emily.karkoska/sandbox

This is my sandbox.

Topic: Gender & Politics

Chelsey Engelhard and Emily Karkoska

Note: This article will appear on the “Gender Inequality” Wikipedia page and will be titled “In Politics”

Political Affiliations & Behaviors

Existing research on the topic of gender/sex and politics has found differences in political affiliation, beliefs, and voting behavior between men and women, although these differences vary across cultures. Gender is a lurking principle in every culture, and while there are many factors to consider when labeling people “Democrat” or “Republican” -- such as race and religion -- gender is especially prominent in politics. Studying gender and political behavior poses challenges, as it can be difficult to determine if men and women actually differ in substantial ways in their political views and voting behavior, or if biases and stereotypes about gender cause people to make assumptions. However, trends in voting behavior among men and women have been proven through research.

Research shows that women in postindustrial countries like the United States, Canada, and Germany primarily identified as Republican before the 1960s; however, as time has progressed and new waves of feminism have occurred, women have become more left-wing due to shared beliefs and values with the political party. Women in these countries typically oppose war and the death penalty, favor gun control, support environment protection, and are more supportive of programs that help people of lower socioeconomic statuses. Women in countries like Spain and Finland are significantly more conservative and have remained conservative over the course of the late 20th century and beginning of the 21st century. Voting behaviors of men have not experienced as drastic of a shift over the last fifty years as women in their voting behavior and political affiliations and tend to consistently be more conservative than women overall. These trends change with every generation, and factors such as culture, race, and religion also must be considered when discussing political affiliation. These factors make the connection between gender and political affiliation complex due to intersectionality.

Candidate gender also plays a role in voting behavior. Women candidates are far more likely than male candidates to be scrutinized and have their competence questioned by both men and women when they are seeking information on candidates in the beginning stages of election campaigns. Democrat male voters tend to seek more information about female Democrat candidates over male Democrat candidates and female Republican voters seek more information about female Republican candidates. For this reason, female candidates in either party typically need to work harder to prove themselves competent more than their male counterparts.

Challenges to Women in Politics

It is generally well known that politics in the United States is dominated by men, which can pose many challenges to women who decide to enter the political sphere.  As the number of women participants in politics continues to increase around the world, the gender of female candidates serves as both a benefit and a hindrance within their campaign themes and advertising practices. The overarching challenge seems to be that -- no matter their actions -- women are unable to win in the political sphere as different standards are used to judge them when compared to their male counterparts.

One area in particular that exemplifies varying perceptions between male and female candidates is the way female candidates decide to dress and how their choice is evaluated. When women decide to dress more masculine, they are perceived as being “conspicuous” and when women decide to dress more feminine, they are perceived as “deficient." At the same time, however, women in politics are generally expected to adhere to the masculine standard, thereby validating the idea that gender is binary and that power is associated with masculinity. As illustrated by the points above, these simultaneous, mixed messages create a “double-bind” for women and some scholars go on to claim that this masculine standard represents symbolic violence against women in politics.

Political knowledge is a second area where male and female candidates are evaluated differently and where political science research has consistently shown women with a lower level of knowledge than their male counterparts. One reason for this finding is the argument that there are different areas of political knowledge that different groups consider. Due to this line of thought, scholars are advocating the replacement of traditional political knowledge with gender-relevant political knowledge because women are not as politically disadvantaged as it may appear.

A third area that affects women’s engagement in politics is their low level of political ambition and their perception of politics as a “men’s game." Research has shown that despite female candidates political contributions being equal to that of male candidates, women perceive more barriers to office in the form of rigorous campaigns, less overall recruitment, inability to balance office and family commitments, hesitancy to enter competitive environments, and a general lack of belief in their own merit and competence. Further adding to women’s low political ambition is how male candidates are evaluated most heavily on their achievements while female candidates are evaluated on their appearance, voice, verbal dexterity, and facial features in addition to their achievements.

Steps Needed for Change

Several forms of action are taken to combat institutionalized sexism. People have begun to speak up or “talk back” in a constructive way to expose gender inequality in politics, as well as gender inequality and under-representation in other institutions. Researchers who have delved into the topic of institutionalized sexism in politics have introduced the term “undoing gender,” which focuses on education and an overarching understanding of gender by encouraging “social interactions that reduce gender difference." Some feminists argue that “undoing gender” is problematic because it is context-dependent and may actually reinforce gender. For this reason, researchers suggest “doing gender differently” by dismantling gender norms and expectations in politics, but this can also depend on culture and level of government (e.g. local versus federal).

Another key to combating institutionalized sexism in politics is to diffuse gender norms through “gender-balanced decision-making” -- particularly at the international level -- which “establishes expectations about appropriate levels of women in decision-making positions." In addition, scholars have started placing emphasis on “the value of the individual and the importance of capturing individual experience” throughout a candidate’s political career -- whether that candidate is male or female -- instead of the collective male or female candidate experience. Five recommended areas of further study for examining the role of gender in U.S. political participation are (1) realizing the “intersection between gender and perceptions”; (2) investigating the influence of “local electoral politics”; (3) examining “gender socialization”; (4) discerning the connection “between gender and political conservatism”; and (5) recognizing the influence of female political role models in recent years. Due to the fact that gender is intricately entwined in every societal institution, gender in politics can only change once gender norms in other institutions change as well.

Bibliography/References

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