Hostname: page-component-5f56664f6-92sl5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-05-07T18:10:22.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Shifting Stereotypes About Men and Women Candidates: Experimental Evidence from the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2025

Claire Gothreau Open the ORCID record for Claire Gothreau [Opens in a new window]  and
Lasse Laustsen Open the ORCID record for Lasse Laustsen [Opens in a new window]
Claire Gothreau*
Affiliation:
Center for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Lasse Laustsen
Affiliation:
Center for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
*
Corresponding author: Claire Gothreau; Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that women’s political underrepresentation partly stems from gendered stereotypes, with women candidates perceived as lower in ability and assertiveness, and as less competent to handle key issues like the economy and national security. However, recent research uncovers how societal leadership stereotypes have become less advantageous for men. Two conjoint experiments show that Americans’ stereotypes about political candidates follow similar trends: although women candidates (following conventional expectations) are perceived as friendlier and more moral than men, they are also seen as higher in ability and as equally assertive. Similarly, men and women candidates are perceived as equally competent to handle the economy, crime, and national security. Further analyses reveal that liberals and individuals low in hostile sexism hold stereotypes most favorable to women. These findings suggest that gendered candidate stereotypes likely constitute less of a hindrance to women seeking political nominations than in the past.

Keywords

gender stereotypesconjoint experimentstereotype applicationpolitical leadershipUnited States
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , First View , pp. 1 - 25
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abele, A.E., Ellemers, N., Fiske, S.T., Koch, A., and Yzerbyt, V.. 2021. “Navigating the Social World: Toward an Integrated Framework for Evaluating Self, Individuals, and Groups.” Psychological Review 128 (2): 290–314. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000262CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Abele, A.E., and Wojciszke, B.. 2007. “Agency and Communion from the Perspective of Self Versus Others.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 93: 751–63. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.751CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alexander, D., and Andersen, K.. 1993. “Gender as a Factor in the Attribution of Leadership Traits.” Political Research Quarterly 46 (3): 527–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anzia, S.F., and Berry, C.R.. 2011. “The Jackie (and Jill) Robinson Effect: Why do Congresswomen Outperform Congressmen?” American Journal of Political Science 55 (3): 478–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, B., Barnes, T.D., Chiba, D., and O’Brien, D.Z.. Forthcoming. “Financial Crises and the Selection and Survival of Women Finance Ministers.”Google Scholar
Atkeson, L.R., and Hamel, B.T.. 2020. “Fit for the job: Candidate Qualifications and Vote Choice in Low Information Elections.” Political Behavior 42: 59–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bareket, O., and Fiske, S.T.. 2023. “A Systematic Review of the Ambivalent Sexism Literature: Hostile Sexism Protects Men’s Power; Benevolent Sexism Guards Traditional Gender Roles.” Psychological Bulletin 149 (11–12): 637–98. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, N.M. 2013. “Rethinking Stereotype Reliance: Understanding the Connection Between Female Candidates and Gender Stereotypes.” Politics and the Life Sciences 32 (1): 22–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bauer, N.M. 2015. “Who Stereotypes Female Candidates? Identifying Individual Differences in Feminine Stereotype Reliance.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 3 (1): 94–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, N.M. 2020a. “Shifting Standards: How Voters Evaluate the Qualifications of Female and Male Candidates.” The Journal of Politics 82 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1086/705817CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, N.M. 2020b. The Qualifications Gap: Why Women Must Be Better Than Men to Win Political Office. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berinsky, A.J., Huber, G.A., and Lenz, G.S.. 2012. “Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk.” Political Analysis 20 (3): 351–68. https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/mpr057CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, D.J. 2013. He Runs, She Runs: Why Gender Stereotypes Do Not Harm Women Candidates. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cassese, E.C., and Holman, M.R.. 2018. “Party and Gender Stereotypes in Campaign Attacks.” Political Behavior 40 (3): 785–807. doi:10.1007/s11109-017-9423-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). 2023. “Women in Elective Office 2023.” Accessed June 29, 2022. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/current-numbers/women-elective-office-2023.Google Scholar
Coppock, A. 2019. “Generalizing from Survey Experiments Conducted on Mechanical Turk: A Replication Approach.” Political Science Research and Methods 7 (3): 613–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de la Cuesta, B., Egami, N., and Imai, K.. 2022. “Improving the External Validity of Conjoint Analysis: The Essential Role of Profile Distribution.” Political Analysis 30: 19–45. DOI: 10.1017/pan.2020.40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devroe, R. 2021. “Stereotypes, Who to Blame? Exploring Individual-Level Determinants of Flemish Voters’ Political Gender Stereotypes.” Political Studies 69 (4): 791–813.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devroe, R., and Wauters, B.. 2018. “Political Gender Stereotypes in a List-PR System with a High Share of Women MPs: Competent Men Versus Leftist Women?” Political Research Quarterly 71 (4): 788–800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dingler, S.C., and Kroeber, C.. 2022. “Myths About Women in the Political Executive - How Gender Stereotypes Shape the Way MPs Assess the Competence of Ministers.” Political Research Quarterly 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dittmar, K. 2021. Measuring Success: Women in 2020 Legislative Elections. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick.Google Scholar
Dolan, K. 2004. Voting for Women: How the Public Evaluates Women Candidates. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Dolan, K. 2010. “The Impact of Gender Stereotyped Evaluations on Support for Women Candidates.” Political Behavior 32: 66–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, K.A. 2014a. When Does Gender Matter?: Women Candidates and Gender Stereotypes in American Elections. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, K. 2014b. “Gender stereotypes, Candidate Evaluations, and Voting for Women Candidates: What Really Matters?” Political Research Quarterly 67 (1): 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912913487949CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, K., and Lynch, T.. 2016. “The Impact of Gender Stereotypes on Voting for Women Candidates by Level and Type of Office.” Politics & Gender 12: 573–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X16000246CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donnelly, K., Twenge, J.M., Clark, M.A., Shaikh, S.K., Beiler-May, A., and Carter, N.T.. 2016. “Attitudes Toward Women’s Work and Family Roles in the United States, 1976–2013.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 40: 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684315590774CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duch, R.M., and Stevenson, R.T.. 2008. The Economic Vote - How Political and Economic Institutions Condition Election Results. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duckitt, J., and Sibley, C.G.. 2010. “Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation Differentially Moderate Intergroup Effects on Prejudice.” European Journal of Personality 24 (7): 583–601. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.772CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eagly, A.H., and Carli, L.L.. 2007. Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Eagly, A.H., and Karau, S.J.. 2002. “Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice Toward Female Leaders.” Psychological Review 109 (3): 573–98. DOI: 10.1037//0033-295X.109.3.573CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eagly, A.H., Nater, C., Miller, D.I., Kaufmann, M., and Sczesny, S.. 2020. “Gender Stereotypes Have Changed: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis of U.S. Public Opinion Polls From 1946 to 2018.” The American Psychologist 75 (3): 301–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000494CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellemers, N. 2018. “Gender Stereotypes.” Annual Review of Psychology 69: 275–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiske, S.T., Cuddy, A.J.C., Glick, P., and Xu, J.. 2002. “A Model of (Often Mixed) Stereotype Content: Competence and Warmth Respectively Follow From Perceived Status and Competition.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 82 (6): 878–902. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fridkin, K.L., Kenney, P.J., and Woodall, G.S.. 2009. “Bad for Men, Better for Women: The Impact of Stereotypes During Negative Campaigns.” Political Behavior 31 (1): 53–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-008-9065-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glick, P., and Fiske, S.T.. 1996. “The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating Hostile and Benevolent Sexism.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70 (3): 491–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glick, P., and Fiske, S.T.. 2007. “Sex Discrimination: The Psychological Approach.” In Sex Discrimination in the Workplace: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, eds. Crosby, F.J., Stockdale, M.S., and Ropp, S.A., 155–87. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Gothreau, C., Arceneaux, K., and Friesen, A.. 2022. “Hostile, Benevolent, Implicit: How Different Shades of Sexism Impact Gendered Policy Attitudes.” Frontiers in Political Science 4: 817309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gothreau, C.M., Warren, C., and Schneider, S.. 2022. “Looking the Other Way: How Ideology Influences Perceptions of Sexual Harassment.” European Journal of Politics and Gender 5 (2): 211–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hainmueller, J., Hopkins, D.J., and Yamamoto, T.. 2014. “Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis: Understanding Multidimensional Choices via Stated Preference Experiments.” Political Analysis 22 (1): 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hargrave, L., and Blumenau, J.. 2022. “No Longer Conforming to Stereotypes? Gender, Political Style and Parliamentary Debate in the UK.” British Journal of Political Science 52 (4): 1584–601. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000648CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, D. 2005. “Candidate Qualities through a Partisan Lens: A Theory of Trait Ownership.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (4): 908–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2005.00163.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Danny. 2011. “When Gender and Party Collide: Stereotyping in Candidate Trait Attribution.” Politics & Gender 7: 133–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, D., and Lawless, J.L.. 2016. Women on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a Polarized Era. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, M.R. 2023. “Gender Stereotyping Questions Accurately Measure Beliefs About the Traits and Issue Strengths of Women and Men in Politics.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 44 (1): 90–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2023.2162285CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holman, M.R., Merolla, J.L., and Zechmeister, E.J.. 2016. “Terrorist Threat, Male Stereotypes, and Candidate Evaluations.” Political Research Quarterly 69 (1): 134–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912915624018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, L., and Terkildsen, N.. 1993a. “The Consequences of Gender Stereotypes for Women Candidates at Different Levels and Types of Office.” Political Research Quarterly 46 (3): 503–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, L., and Terkildsen, N.. 1993b. “Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Male and Female Candidates.” American Journal of Political Science 37: 119–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, S.D., and Tamney, J.B.. 2001. “Social Traditionalism and Economic Conservatism: Two Conservative Political Ideologies in the United States” The Journal of Social Psychology 141 (2): 233–43. doi: 10.1080/00224540109600549CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jost, J.T. 2017. “Ideological Asymmetries and the Essence of Political Psychology.” Political Psychology 38 (2): 167–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12407CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, K.F. 1992. “Does Being Male Help? An Investigation of the Effects of Candidate Gender and Campaign Coverage on Evaluations of U.S. Senate Candidates.” The Journal of Politics 54: 497–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalaf-Hughes, N., and Leiter, D.. 2020. “That Woman from Michigan: How Gender Resentment Shapes the Efficacy of Stay-at-Home Policies.” Politics & Gender 16 (4): 983–90. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X20000392CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, C., and Sakamoto, A.. 2017. “Women’s Progress for Men’s Gain? Gender-Specific Changes in the Return to Education as Measured by Family Standard of Living, 1990 to 2009–2011.” Demography 54 (5): 1743–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinder, D., Reynolds, M.E., and Burns, N.. 2020. “Categorical Politics in Action: Gender and the 2016 Presidential Election.” In New Directions in Public Opinion (3rd edition), ed. Berinsky, A.J., 159–76. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kirkland, P.A., and Coppock, A.. 2018. “Candidate Choice Without Party Labels: New Insights from Conjoint Survey Experiments.” Political Behavior 40: 571–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-017-9414-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, Jeffrey W. 2000. “Do Citizens Apply Gender Stereotypes to Infer Candidates’ Ideological Orientations?” Journal of Politics 62 (2): 414–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-3816.00019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, Jeffrey W. 2002. “Gender Stereotypes and Citizens’ Impressions of House Candidates’ Ideological Orientations.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (2): 453–62. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, A., Imhoff, R., Dotsch, R., Unkelbach, C., and Alves, H.. 2016. “The ABC of Stereotypes About Groups: Agency/Socioeconomic Success, Conservative-Progressive Beliefs, and Communion.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 110: 675–709. http://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000046CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenig, A.M., Eagly, A.H., Mitchell, A.A., and Ristikari, T.. 2011. “Are Leader Stereotypes Masculine? A Meta-Analysis of Three Research Paradigms.” Psychological Bulletin 137 (4): 616–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023557CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kteily, N.S., Rocklage, M.D., McClanahan, K., and Ho, A.K.. 2019. “Political Ideology Shapes the Amplification of the Accomplishments of Disadvantaged vs. Advantaged Group Members.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 116 (5): 1559–68. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818545116CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawless, J. 2004. “Women, War, and Winning Elections: Gender Stereotyping in the Post-September 11th era.” Political Research Quarterly 57 (3): 479–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lefkofridi, Z. N. Giger, and Holli, A.M.. 2019. “When All Parties Nominate Women: The Role of Political Gender Stereotypes in Voters’ Choices.” Politics & Gender 15 (4): 746–72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X18000454CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucciola, N. 2023. “The Perks of Being Female: Gender Stereotypes and Voters’ Preferences in Brazil.” Politics & Gender 19 (2): 507–532. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X22000113CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, T.R., and Dolan, K.. 2014. Voter attitudes, behaviors, and women candidates. Women and Elective Office, 46–66.Google Scholar
Matland, R.E. 1994. “Putting Scandinavian Equality to the Test: An Experimental Evaluation of Gender Stereotyping of Political Candidates in a Sample of Norwegian Voters.” British Journal of Political Science 24 (2): 273–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, M.L. 1998. “Voting Cues in Low-information Elections: Candidate Gender as a Social Information Variable in Contemporary United States Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 41 (1).Google Scholar
Milyo, J., and Schlosberg, S.. 2000. “Gender Bias and Selection Bias in House Elections.” Public Choice 105 (1/2): 41–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Brien, D.Z., Mendez, M., Peterson, J.C., and Shin, J.. 2015. “Letting Down the Ladder or Shutting the Door: Female Prime Ministers, Party Leaders, and Cabinet Members.” Politics & Gender 11 (4): 689–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ondercin, H.L., and Dalton, C.. 2023. “Gender Candidate Evaluations and Campaign Donations.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 44 (1): 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2023.2158703CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ono, Y., Burden, B.C.. 2019. “The Contingent Effects of Candidate Sex on Voter Choice.” Political Behavior 41: 583–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ono, Y., and Yamada, M.. 2020. “Do Voters Prefer Gender Stereotypic Candidates? Evidence from a Conjoint Survey Experiment in Japan.” Political Science Research and Methods 8: 477–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, G.N., Butterfield, D.A., and Jiang, X.. 2021. “The ‘Good Manager’ over Five Decades: Towards an Androgynous Profile?” Gender in Management 36 (6): 714–30. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-01-2021-0023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanbonmatsu, K. 2002. “Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (1): 20–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanbonmatsu, K., and Dolan, K.. 2009. “Do Gender Stereotypes Transcend Party?” Political Research Quarterly 62 (3): 485–494. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912908322416CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, M.C., and Bos, A.L.. 2014. “Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians.” Political Psychology 35 (2): 245–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12040CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuessler, J., and Freitag, M.. 2022. “Power Analysis for Conjoint Experiments. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Schwarz, S., and Coppock, A.. 2022. “What Have We Learned About Gender From Candidate Choice Experiments? A Meta-analysis of 67 Factorial Survey Experiments.” The Journal of Politics 84 (2), 655–668. https://doi.org/10.1086/716290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sevincer, A.T., Galinsky, C., Martensen, L., and Oettingen, G.. 2023. “Political Ideology Outdoes Personal Experience in Predicting Support for Gender Equality.” Political Psychology 44 (4): 829–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12887CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soroka, S., and Wlezien, C.. 2010. Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion and Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stefanelli, A., and Lukac, M.. 2022. “Statistical Power in Conjoint Experiments.” Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Teele, D.L., Kalla, J., and Rosenbluth, F.. 2018. “The Ties That Double Bind: Social Roles and Women’s Underrepresentation in Politics.” American Political Science Review 112 (3): 525–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United States Census Bureau. 2022. Quick Facts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222.Google Scholar
van der Pas, D.J., Aaldering, L., and Steenvoorden, E.. 2022. “Gender Bias in Political Candidate Evaluation Among Voters: The Role of Party Support and Political Gender Attitudes.” Frontiers in Political Science 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2022.921252Google Scholar
Volden, C., Wiseman, A.E., and Wittmer, D.E.. 2013. “When Are Women More Effective Lawmakers Than Men?” American Journal of Political Science 57 (2): 326–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiezel, Adi, Barlev, Michael, Martos, Christopher R., and Kenrick, Douglas T.. 2024. “Stereotypes versus Preferences: Revisiting the Role of Alpha Males in Leadership.” Evolution and Human Behavior 45 (3): 292–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winter, N.J.G. 2010. “Masculine Republicans and Feminine Democrats: Gender and Americans’ Explicit and Implicit Images of the Political Parties.” Political Behavior 32 (4): 587–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winter, N.J.G. 2023. “Hostile Sexism, Benevolent Sexism, and American Elections.” Politics & Gender 19 (2): 427–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X22000010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Gothreau and Laustsen supplementary material

Gothreau and Laustsen supplementary material
Download Gothreau and Laustsen supplementary material(File)
File 26.5 MB