Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T05:02:05.229Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Perks of Being Female: Gender Stereotypes and Voters’ Preferences in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2022

Natalia Lucciola Open the ORCID record for Natalia Lucciola [Opens in a new window]
Natalia Lucciola*
Affiliation:
Secretary of Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*
Corresponding author. Email: nat.lucciola@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Do voters rely on gendered stereotypes when evaluating candidates in Brazil? The literature shows that gendered stereotypes about politicians can result in women being consistently judged as unfit for office. This article investigates the influence of gendered stereotypes on voters’ preferences in a context that combines severe female underrepresentation and incentives for voters to rely on politicians’ personal attributes. In two survey experiments, I identify the gendered stereotypes of politicians in Brazil and estimate how they influence voters’ behavior toward hypothetical candidates who do or do not comply with those stereotypes. The findings suggest that voters hold positive stereotypes of women and a broad pro-female bias.

Keywords

genderwomenfemale politiciansBrazilsurvey experimentvoter behaviorstereotyperole congruence theory
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , June 2023 , pp. 507 - 532
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. 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.)

References

Aguilar, Rosario, Cunow, Saul, and Desposato, Scott. 2015. “Choice Sets, Gender, and Candidate Choice in Brazil.” Electoral Studies 39: 230–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2015.03.011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Beaulieu, Emily. 2014. “Gender Stereotypes and Corruption: How Candidates Affect Perceptions of Election Fraud.” Politics & Gender 10 (3): 365–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x14000221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and Beaulieu, Emily. 2019. “Women Politicians, Institutions, and Perceptions of Corruption.” Comparative Political Studies 52 (1): 134–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414018774355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batista Pereira, Frederico. 2020. “Electoral Rules and Voter Bias against Female Candidates in Brazilian Congressional Elections.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. Published online August 12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2020.1806287.Google Scholar
Bauer, Nicole. 2015. “Emotional, Sensitive, and Unfit for Office? Gender Stereotype Activation and Support Female Candidates.” Political Psychology 36 (6): 691–708. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boas, Taylor C. 2014. “Pastor Paulo vs. Doctor Carlos: Professional Titles as Voting Heuristics in Brazil.” Journal of Politics in Latin America 6 (2): 39–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802x1400600202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohn, Simone R. 2008. “Mulher para presidente do Brasil? Gênero e política na perspectiva do eleitor brasileiro.” Opinião Pública 14 (2): 352–79. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-62762008000200004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bos, Angela L., Madonia, Heather, and Schneider, Monica C.. 2018. Stereotype Measurement in Political Decision Making. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 2009. “The Impact of Gender Stereotyped Evaluations on Support for Women Candidates.” Political Behavior 32 (1): 69–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-009-9090-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen, and Lynch, Timothy. 2013. “It Takes a Survey.” American Politics Research 42 (4): 656–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673x13503034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen, and Lynch, Timothy. 2016. “The Impact of Gender Stereotypes on Voting for Women Candidates by Level and Type of Office.” Politics & Gender 12 (3): 573–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x16000246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, Dos, Pedro, A. G., and Jalalzai, Farida. 2021. Women’s Empowerment and Disempowerment in Brazil: The Rise and Fall of President Dilma Rousseff. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Fiske, Susan T., Amy, J. C. Cuddy, Glick, Peter, and Xu, Jun. 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/10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Funk, Carolyn L. 1999. “Bringing the Candidate into Models of Candidate Evaluation.” Journal of Politics 61 (3): 700–720. https://doi.org/10.2307/2647824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Funk, Kendall D., Hinojosa, Magda, and Piscopo, Jennifer M.. 2021. “Women to the Rescue: The Gendered Effects of Public Discontent on Legislative Nominations in Latin America.” Party Politics 27 (3): 465–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068819856614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, and Terkildsen, Nayda. 1993. “Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Male and Female Candidates.” American Journal of Political Science 37 (1): 119–47. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Carol, and Williams, Blair. 2020. “Gender and Political Leadership in a Time of COVID.” Politics & Gender 16 (4): 943–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1743923x2000029x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, D., and Braly, K.. 1933. “Racial Stereotypes of One Hundred College Students.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 28 (3): 280–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulich, Clara, Iacoviello, Vincenzo, and Lorenzi-Cioldi, Fabio. 2018. “Solving the Crisis: When Agency Is the Preferred Leadership for Implementing Change.” Leadership Quarterly 29 (2): 295–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.05.003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulich, Clara and Ryan, Michelle K. 2017. The Glass Cliff. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.42.Google Scholar
Lab, LAPOP. 2018. “AmericasBarometer.” http://vanderbilt.edu/lapop.Google Scholar
Le Foulon, Carmen, and Reyes-Housholder, Catherine. 2021. “Candidate Sex, Corruption and Vote Choice.” Electoral Studies 69: 102270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, Michelle K., Haslam, S. Alexander, Morgenroth, Thekla, Rink, Floor, Stoker, Janka, and Peters, Kim. 2016. “Getting on Top of the Glass Cliff: Reviewing a Decade of Evidence, Explanations, and Impact.” Leadership Quarterly 27 (3): 446–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuels, David J., and Zucco, Cesar. 2013. “Using Facebook as a Subject Recruitment Tool for Survey-Experimental Research.” https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2101458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanbonmatsu, Kira. 2002. “Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (1): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sapiro, Virginia. 1981. “If U.S. Senator Baker Were a Woman: An Experimental Study of Candidate Images.” Political Psychology 3(1–2): 61–83. https://doi.org/10.2307/3791285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Monica C., and Bos, Angela L.. 2014. “Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians.” Political Psychology 35 (2): 245–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12040.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, Monica C., and Bos, Angela L.. 2019. “The Application of Social Role Theory to the Study of Gender in Politics.” Political Psychology 40 (1): 173–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A., and Reyes-Housholder, Catherine. 2017. “Citizen Responses to Female Executives: Is It Sex, Novelty or Both?” Politics, Groups, and Identities 5 (3): 373–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2017.1283238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shugart, Matthew Seberg, Valdini, Melody Ellis, and Suominen, Kati. 2005. “Looking for Locals: Voter Information Demands and Personal Vote-Earning Attributes of Legislators under Proportional Representation.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (2): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/3647687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TSE (Tribunal Superior Eleitoral). 2018. “Electoral Superior Court from Brazil.” http://divulga.tse.jus.br/oficial/index.html.Google Scholar
Valdini, Melody Ellis. 2013. “Electoral Institutions and the Manifestation of Bias: The Effect of Personal Vote on the Representation of Women.” Politics & Gender 9 (1): 76–92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X12000700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wylie, Kristin N. 2018. Party Institutionalization and Women’s Representation in Democratic Brazil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Lucciola supplementary material

Lucciola supplementary material

Download Lucciola supplementary material(File)
File 1.1 MB