Women In Politics Research Articles

Angry tweets. How uncivil and intolerant elite communication affects political distrust and political participation intentions

ABSTRACT Hostile speech by politicians is increasingly prevalent on social media, especially for regular social media users. However, studies that compare the effects of political incivility versus intolerance on recipients’ emotions, political distrust, and political participation intentions are lacking. Findings of an experimental study (N = 297) indicated that uncivil speech had no significant effect on young recipients’ negative emotions. In contrast, intolerant speech elicited negative emotions, which increased political distrust and political participation intentions. Further, we assumed that a female politician using incivility/intolerance elicits stronger emotional reactions than a male politician. However, effects appeared independent of the gender of the communicator. Implications are discussed.

Gendered Backlash Depends on the Context. Reassessing Negative Campaigning Sanctions Against Female Candidates via Large-Scale Comparative Data

ABSTRACT On paper, women politicians should be punished more than men when they go negative during election campaigns. Yet, empirical evidence in this sense is surprisingly scarce, and findings offer a muddled picture. In this article, we argue that existing research has, so far, neglected to consider a fundamental intervening factor: the role of the context, and specifically the level of descriptive representation of women in politics. Using novel large-scale data for 700+ candidates having competed in 150+ elections in 94 countries worldwide, we test – and confirm – the expectation that women are especially punished for negative campaigning in countries with low descriptive representation of women in politics. This pattern does not hold in more gender-equal contexts. Additional observational evidence from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) shows that this electoral punishment is likely due to voters expressing lower likability of women candidates (compared to men) when the former go negative in countries where women are less established in political leadership positions. We suggest that inconsistent results in previous studies are likely due to the lack of comparative focus.

Capital Utilization of Incumbent Female Politicians (Case Study: Victory of Female Politicians in Three Legislative Election Periods in the Semarang Regency)

This article examines the capital utilization of two female politicians who have successfully maintained their positions for three consecutive terms in the Semarang Regency People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah/DPRD). Periodically, the election results indicate a continued decline in the representation of women in the DPRD of Semarang Regency. Despite this, the two incumbent politicians in this article managed to retain their positions. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method, with data collection through in-depth interviews with two incumbent female politicians and several other informants, such as members of political parties, campaign teams, and voters. The findings in this study reveal that political capital, social capital, and economic capital play an important role in the victory of incumbent female politicians. This study also revealed that, despite the strong political and social capital of these two female politicians during their second and third terms, these factors did not diminish their need for economic capital to win the election.

Gendered Perceptions and the Costs of Political Toxicity: Experimental Evidence from Politicians and Citizens in Four Democracies

Politicians frequently face toxic behaviors. We argue that these behaviors impose a double burden on women, who may not only face higher exposure to toxicity, but experience attacks that they and others understand to be motivated by prejudice and designed to push them out of office. Using large-scale image-based conjoint experiments in the United States, Denmark, Belgium, and Chile, we demonstrate that both politicians themselves and citizens regard messages targeting women politicians as more toxic than otherwise equivalent messages targeting men. This perception intensifies when messages mention gender or come from perpetrators who are men. A second experiment to investigate the mechanisms shows that hostile behaviors toward women are more frequently understood as driven by prejudice and attempts to remove women from politics. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how perceptions of perpetrators’ motives affect the severity of political toxicity, and provide insights into the gendered effects of political hostility.

Digital Storytelling as Technique of Woman Politician Improving the Perception and Their Political Status

In Albania's increasingly hypermediated political landscape, digital interactive storytelling has emerged as a widely utilized technique in political communication. Despite persistent gender biases shaped by stereotypical prejudices and a public opinion strongly influenced by male-dominated opinion leaders, digital interactive storytelling has the potential to enhance women's public image and standing within the political arena. This medium enables women in politics to communicate directly with audiences, bypassing intermediaries and mitigating potential message distortions, while harnessing storytelling elements like narrative, imagery, and the intrinsic appeal of a compelling, well-told story. This research investigates how digital interactive storytelling helps women in Albanian politics shape their public image. Specifically, it examines whether there is a qualitative and quantitative difference in how women are represented on their social media profiles versus traditional Albanian media outlets. We monitored the Instagram profiles of five Albanian parliament members, all chairing parliamentary commissions, observing their posts over the past year. We also analyzed coverage in Panorama Online, a prominent and influential media outlet in Albania, to examine how these digital narratives are portrayed in the media. Our findings indicate that digital storytelling has heightened the visibility of women in Albanian politics, with media coverage reflecting these figures in alignment with their chosen strategic narratives. Media portrayal largely emphasizes these women as experts in their fields and as advocates of their respective parties' ideological platforms. Received: 12 August 2024 / Accepted: 16 November 2024 / Published: 3 December 2024

“A Fly in the Ointment”: The Barriers to Portuguese Female Political Participation

The latest data from the Gender Equality Index ranks Portugal 10th in female political power. Despite a larger female resident population, parity in access to power and decision-making remains limited. Research on local political power reveals low female representation within parties and a lack of motivation to recruit or affiliate women. This study utilizes thematic analysis eight interviews with women in political leadership positions to identify barriers to female political participation in the Portuguese context. Key questions addressed include the following: How do media representation, role models, stereotypes, and cultural norms impact the political arena? Is it the lack of representation that deters women, or does the political environment alienate them? The analysis explores how media portrayal, stereotypes, double standards, scrutiny, and cultural norms interconnect, perpetuating the political arena as a male-dominated space, thereby marginalizing women politicians.

Does women's political participation promote green innovation? Global evidence

AbstractA long‐standing theory is that men value technology, while women focus more on human welfare and living conditions. Using data from 101 countries between 1996 and 2019, this study examines the impact of women's political participation on green innovation. Our results show that a one‐unit increase in women's political participation is positively associated with a 0.081 unit increase in the standard deviation of green innovation. This effect is particularly significant in developed countries where women's political participation is above the global average. Analysis using the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) shows a more pronounced effect at lower quantiles of green innovation in high‐carbon countries, due to women's heightened environmental sensitivity. Furthermore, implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, bureaucratic quality, and law and order strengthen this relationship. Accordingly, we identify countries that should prioritize improving women's political status, especially in patriarchal and Muslim societies.

The Unsettling of Women Prime Ministers: A Gendered Analysis of Political Cartoons

Women politicians have long experienced gendered and often sexist portrayals within the mainstream media that reproduce and reinforce the heteronormative gender binary. Though the media overwhelmingly support binary notions of gender, the way in which they portray women politicians, intentionally or not, also has the potential to unsettle notions of sex/gender. Political cartoons have been widely and historically used by newspapers to communicate certain messages to the reader, drawing from cultural norms and stereotypes, often in ways that would be regarded as unacceptable if written in the text of the article. However, little research has examined gender stereotypes in political cartoons of women political leaders and those that do largely focus on the “feminine”. This paper will address that gap by analyzing how “masculine” stereotypes are used in political cartoons of four women Prime Ministers from English speaking Westminster Democracies: Julia Gillard (Australia), Margaret Thatcher (UK), Jenny Shipley (NZ) and Helen Clark (NZ). Drawing from Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity and utilizing a feminist semiotic methodological analysis of selected political cartoons, I explore how masculine stereotypes are used to ridicule these leaders for their supposed gender subversion while also inadvertently unsettling the gender binary.

From caretaking to transaction: Women politicians, motherhood, and political authority in Kenya

AbstractFeminist scholars have noted how motherhood opens avenues for women to access political authority. For African and Black women, scholars have noted how presenting themselves as mothers in the political sphere allows them to capitalize on an identity that traditionally allowed them access to power. However, these perspectives on motherhood and politics privilege a perspective on motherhood that deems the role as selfless and sacrificial. In this article, I propose moving beyond the caretaking dimensions of motherhood when analyzing how women politicians utilize motherhood. Drawing on evidence from research among Kenyan women politicians between 2017 and 2020, I argue that political motherhood often emerges as a transaction. Rather than interpreting the actions of women politicians as an extension of maternalistic impulses into the political realm, I illustrate how women politicians present the benefits of motherhood in exchange for citizens’ votes. By diversifying the meanings of political motherhood beyond caretaking and communal roles, this article counters perspectives that assume women politicians are less corrupt or are the victims of patriarchal politics. Instead, by foregrounding the transactional dimensions of political motherhood, this article illustrates how women politicians strategically use gendered identities to build political authority.

Exposure of Women in Politics to Media Coverage and Their Ability to Raise Self-Esteem of Children in Nakuru County

As the number of women in politics continues to increase worldwide, balancing their political and parenting roles may pose a challenge. The study was carried out to investigate the effects of exposure of women to media coverage on their ability to raise the self-esteem of their children in Nakuru County. The study adopted an ex post facto research design. The study had an accessible population of 129 respondents that comprised 105 women members of county assembly aspirants, 12 women parliamentary aspirants, 10 women representative aspirants and two women senatorial aspirants in Nakuru County during the 2017 general elections. The census sampling technique was used to select all the 129 respondents. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were ascertained of the study objectives and advice by experts from the Department of Applied Community Development Studies of Egerton University. To estimate the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was conducted on fourteen women political aspirants who participated in the 2017 general elections from neighbouring Nyandarua County. The questionnaire was considered reliable when it attained an estimated Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.78. The questionnaire was self-administered with the guidance from the researcher. Quantitative data was summarized in frequency distribution tables and the responses were analysed using simple regression analysis methods with the help of SPSS computer package 25.0 version. Qualitative data was summarized in emerging themes based on the objectives of the study. The study revealed that exposure of women to media coverage affected their ability to raise the self-esteem of their children in Nakuru County (β- 0.790) at 0.05 level of significance. The study findings may offer insights to women politicians, education researchers and other stakeholders on the importance of parenthood and the challenges faced by women politicians

Women Politicians, Social Movements, and Misogyny in Democratic Struggles

In this essay, I investigate the relationship among women in politics, social movements, and misogyny through an examination of public discourse surrounding women politicians—in particular, Carrie Lam, the former chief executive of Hong Kong. The participants in a series of protests in Hong Kong against an anti-extradition bill that began in 2019 generated a large volume of audiovisual materials for the purpose of raising social consciousness, conducting civic education, and creating networks for solidarity. Many of these protest materials contained blatantly misogynistic messages targeting pro-establishment women politicians. I focus on women leaders to explore gender politics in social movements. In assessing the public discourse about Lam during the 2019 movement, I demonstrate that gender politics is consistently inscribed within social movements in postcolonial Hong Kong, in which context the progressive pursuit of democracy, self-determination, and freedom remains imbued with patriarchal culture, including paternalism. This patriarchal culture, unsurprisingly, combines seamlessly with sexism, misogyny, and a gendered imagination of the city’s possible political futures.

Do gender quotas increase political knowledge?

AbstractDo gender quotas increase political knowledge? While some studies suggest that quotas can positively impact women's political engagement and participation, others find null or negative effects. This paper focuses on Western Europe and argues that the implementation of quotas serves as an attention and consciousness‐raising event, potentially enhancing awareness of the political sphere. To investigate this, I propose a novel research design that capitalizes on the (quasi) exogenous shock resulting from the introduction of gender quotas. By influencing symbolic representation, quotas may enhance women's sense of empowerment, equality and willingness to engage in politics. Furthermore, the impact is expected to be more pronounced among younger women due to the heightened political socialization experienced during adolescence. Thus, the institutional change brought about by quotas is anticipated to particularly boost political knowledge among (younger) women and subsequently narrow the gender gap. To examine this hypothesis, I analyse data from 1992 to 2018 from 12 countries, of which six implemented gender quotas. Using a hierarchical Bayesian model, I assess respondents' answers to knowledge questions. The findings indicate that the introduction of gender quotas in parliamentary systems has a positive effect on reducing the gender gap in political knowledge among younger individuals, while the effects are statistically insignificant for older citizens.

The Evolution and Challenges of Women Legislators in Bihar: A Historical Analysis

This paper explores the role of women legislators in Bihar, India, from the first general election in 1952 to the present. It examines how women’s participation in the state assembly has changed over time and the challenges they have faced. In the early years, women had very limited representation in Bihar’s politics, mainly due to patriarchal norms, caste discrimination, and a lack of political opportunities. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in the 1990s, which introduced reservations for women in local governance, helped increase their participation, particularly at the grassroots level. However, at the state level, progress has been slow. As of 2020, women held only 10.7% of seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly. Despite these challenges, women legislators have made important contributions, especially in areas like education, healthcare, and social welfare. This study also highlights barriers such as caste and gender bias, financial limitations, and a lack of support from political parties. Finally, the paper suggests policy changes, such as stronger reservation enforcement and more support for women candidates, to improve women’s representation in Bihar. Women in politics, Bihar, Political representation, Gender inequality

Do women state legislators and administrators make any difference in preventing natural disaster mortality? Evidence from India

Abstract We investigate the effect of women's political representation in the state legislative assembly and public administration on natural disaster mortality in 20 Indian states from 1981 to 2019. The paper combines two critical dimensions: political and administrative representation of women and disaster risk reduction. Results suggest that women's political representation reduces total disaster mortality after controlling socioeconomic and political covariates; however, the effects are statistically insignificant for the current and lag periods. We find that a one standard deviation increase in women's representation in public administration lowers total disaster mortality by 20.6 percentage points, which is 9.8 per cent of the sample mean. We observe the impacts of female administrative representation on gender-specific human development outcomes through reduced male and female disaster mortality, and we explain some mechanisms. Thus, women's political and administrative representation is crucial for addressing disaster mortality as it has major public health consequences.

Gender Differences in Climbing up the Ladder: Why Experience Closes the Ambition Gender Gap

Women are unequally represented in the highest positions in society. Beyond discrimination and bias, women are missing from the top because they are less likely to pursue high-ranking opportunities. We propose that experience is a critical moderator of gender differences in pursuing leadership opportunities, with low-experience women being particularly unlikely to seek higher level positions. We used field analyses of 96 years of U.S. senator and governor elections to examine male and female politicians’ propensity to run for higher political offices. As predicted, among those with little political experience, women were less likely than men to run for higher office, but experience closed this gender gap. A preregistered experiment among U.S.-based adults replicated the field findings and revealed that it was the increased self-confidence of experienced women that reduced the gender gap. The findings suggest experience, and the self-confidence that comes with it, is one lever for closing the gender gap in seeking to climb professional hierarchies.

President Wonder Woman and Congresswoman Batgirl: the authoritarian Überfrau and democratic resilience in superheroine comics

ABSTRACT Comic books are important sites where norms related to gender, leadership, and democratic engagement are negotiated. In this essay, we examine two comic book depictions of women’s political leadership: Diana Prince/Wonder Woman’s stint as US president, published in 1944, and Barbara Gordon/Batgirl’s tenure as a member of US Congress, published between 1972 and 1980. We contrast Wonder Woman’s tale of democratic fragility and gendered conflict with a Batgirl narrative that promotes a more complex view of women’s political agency and subordinates superheroism to the strength of democratic community. We contend that Wonder Woman #7 reflects the fascist tendencies observed in other Golden Age comics and theorize Überfrau as a counterpart to Übermensch, rooted in an ostensible ethic of protection and authoritarian white femininity. Reading Wonder Woman #7 through the lens of the Überfrau reveals the contours of an antidemocratic white women’s authoritarianism that continues to resonate in twenty-first century politics. An antidote to the reactionary Überfrau is offered by Batgirl, who eschews the role of super savior and puts the responsibility for democratic health into voters’ hands. We conclude by examining how these contrasting visions of women’s political leadership are echoed by women politicians in contemporary political culture.

Exploring the Discursive Representation of Pakistani Female Politicians in Print and Electronic Media: A Qualitative Study of Narrative and Framing

This study uses a qualitative discourse analysis approach to investigate Pakistani female politicians' discursive representation in print and electronic media. Specifically, the research focuses on the narratives and framing strategies employed by the media to construct and portray the public image of these political figures. By employing Corpus-Assisted Diachronic Discourse Analysis (CADDA), the study traces the changes in media discourse over time, uncovering how gender biases, societal norms, and power dynamics shape the representation of women in Pakistani politics. The findings reveal significant trends in gendered framing, highlighting how media portrayal fluctuates between marginalization and recognition of female politicians' contributions, though gender stereotypes remain deeply embedded in these narratives. The findings of this study have important implications for future media reform initiatives, advocating for a more equitable and balanced representation of women in politics. The insights gained can also inform gender advocacy strategies and policy efforts to enhance women's visibility and leadership roles in traditional and digital media.

Jan Stuhler discussion of: Women in politics during COVID

Jan Stuhler discussion of: Women in politics during COVID

Laura Hospido discussion of: Women in politics during COVID

Laura Hospido discussion of: Women in politics during COVID

Reconstituting the ‘good woman’: Gendered visual politics on social media during 2021 state election in West Bengal, India

This paper explores the visual politics of gender in electoral politics in West Bengal (WB). We examine how women political candidates visually construct their non-verbal political performance on social media, and how such visuals relate to social mores and societal expectations surrounding femininity. Drawing on theories of the social construction of gender and visual political communication, we conducted a content analysis of 1,033 visual artefacts from eight individual women candidates and 205 from the Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages of the four main political parties taking part in the January-April 2021 electoral campaign for state-level elections in WB. We analysed how these candidates construct gendered relationships with the electorate through different cues on the platforms, such as sartorial choices (traditional or Western attire), use of culture-specific religious symbols (sindoor or vermillion, bindi – forehead marking worn by married Hindu women), and gendered/non-gendered political actions like cooking or serving food, giving speeches or meeting constituents in political processions. Our findings about the visually performed politics show a combination of cultural, political, and gender signifiers, which are mediated and remain connected to societal expectations, and historical narratives. The candidates’ negotiation of these aspects, in turn, underscores a reproduction of colonial legacies and, in the present day, an ongoing production of societal differences. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on visual politics of gender, particularly in Asian contexts. It sheds light on the nuanced ways women politicians use social media to construct their visual identities, and how the deployment of body politics into the relatively ‘new’ online sphere reifies ‘old’ social, political, cultural symbolisms, and norms regarding gender. In this way, this article highlights the importance of considering pre-digital forms of gendered identity construction and visual representation when analysing the contested terrain of digital visibilities.