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16 - The Persistence of Gender in Campaigns and Elections

from Part II - The Politics of Intergroup Attitudes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2022

By
Kathleen Rogers  and
Kira Sanbonmatsu
Edited by
Danny Osborne  and
Chris G. Sibley
Danny Osborne
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
Chris G. Sibley
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
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Summary

This chapter covers two key areas in which gender shapes electoral politics from the perspective of political psychology: candidate evaluation and campaign strategy. The bulk of the chapter reviews scholarship about the role of gender stereotypes in candidate evaluations. This work includes stereotypes about traits and policy positions as well as the intersection of gender, partisan, racial, and ethnic stereotypes. The section on candidate evaluation also addresses the effects of sexism and voters’ affective responses to candidates. The section on campaign strategy summarises research about the ways in which candidates and their consultants tailor campaigns to compensate for or take advantage of voters’ gender stereotypes. Overall, the chapter argues that while the impact of gender is often context-dependent, gender remains a highly relevant factor in electoral politics.

Keywords

GenderCandidate evaluationCampaign strategyStereotypesIntersectionality
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology , pp. 258 - 271
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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