Leaning In or All in the Family? Gender Equality, Dynastic Legacies, and Female Leaders

Abstract

Until the second half of the twentieth century, it was relatively rare for women to become leaders of states. As gender equality has increased, so has the number of female leaders. In countries that have made the greatest strides toward gender equity women’s roles have evolved, including directly participating in political leadership. While the chances of a woman becoming head of state or government increase with overall gender equity, at the opposite end of the equality spectrum there are also a number of women who achieved the most powerful office in the nation, including Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Corazon Aquino, and Aung San Suu Kyi, and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. What can explain how women rise to power in patriarchal societies with extreme gender inequity? This paper addresses the puzzle of female leaders in states with high levels of gender inequality, and considers how these women came to power. Specifically, we hypothesize that women in countries with less gender equality are more likely to come to power through dynastic legacies as the relatives of former leaders. These familial connections often allow women to connect to political legacies powerful enough to overcome society’s preference for men in positions of influence. In the most extreme cases, dynastic female leaders may actually be evidence of gender inequality as they are seen as little more than the extension of male relatives. This paper uses case studies and multi-country panel regression to investigate the relationship between gender inequality and dynastic female leadership.