Description
It Takes a Candidate serves as the first systematic, nationwide empirical account of the manner in which gender affects political ambition. Based on data from the Citizen Political Ambition Study, a national survey conducted on almost 3,800 'potential candidates', we find that women, even in the highest tiers of professional accomplishment, are substantially less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elected office. Women are less likely than men to be recruited to run for office. They are less likely than men to think they are 'qualified' to run for office. And they are less likely than men to express a willingness to run for office in the future. This gender gap in political ambition persists across generations. Despite cultural evolution and society's changing attitudes toward women in politics, running for public office remains a much less attractive and feasible endeavor for women than men.
Chapter
Traditional Gender Socialization in the Context of U.S. Politics: The Central Argument and Its Implications
Traditional Family Role Orientations
2 Explaining Women's Emergence in the Political Arena
Women and Elective Politics: The Numbers
Existing Explanations for Women's Underrepresentation
Societal Rejection and Cultural Evolution: The Discrimination Explanation
Institutional Inertia: The Incumbency Explanation
The Candidate Eligibility Pool: The Pipeline Explanation
The Missing Piece: Developing a Theory of Gender and Political Ambition
The Citizen Political Ambition Study
3 The Gender Gap in Political Ambition
Very Much the Same: Gender, Political Participation, and Political Interest
Very Much Different: Gender and Political Ambition
Stage One: Considering a Candidacy
Stage Two: Deciding to Enter the First Race
The Gender Gap in Elective Office Preferences
4 Barefoot, Pregnant, and Holding a Law Degree: Family Dynamics and Running for Office
Raised to Be a Candidate?
Eligible Candidates' Family Structures and Roles
Wife, Mother, and Candidate? Family Roles as Impediments to Political Ambition
Massachusetts attorney Denise Zauderer offered a similar assessment:
Are Times Changing? Generational Differences in Political Ambition
5 Gender, Party, and Political Recruitment
Eligible Candidates Political Attitudes and Partisanship
Who Gets Asked to Run for Office?
Political Recruitment and Considering a Candidacy
6 ``I'm Just Not Qualified'': Gendered Self-Perceptions of Candidate Viability
The Impact of Self-Perceived Qualifications on Political Ambition
Explanations for the Gender Gap in Self-Perceived Qualifications
Gender Differences in Defining Political Qualifications
Different Yardsticks for Gauging Political Qualifications
7 Taking the Plunge: Deciding to Run for Office
Why Would Anyone Run for Office? Negative Perceptions of the Electoral Environment and Campaign Process
Gender and the Decision to Enter a Race
A Side Note on Political Culture and “Structural” Factors
Prospective Interest in Running for Office
8 Gender and the Future of Electoral Politics
Summarizing the Findings and Forecasting Women's Representation
Recasting the Study of Gender and Elections
Appendix A: The Citizen Political Ambition Study Sample Design and Data Collection
Appendix C: The Interview Questionnaire
Part I – Running for Public Office
Part II – Political Culture
Part III – Professional and Life Goals
Part IV – Perceptions of a Gendered Environment
Appendix D: Variable Coding
It Takes a Candidate
：Why Women Don't Run for Office
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