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Why do women always lag behind when running for political office? Uncover the gender gap behind it!
When we talk about political leadership, the gender gap in the field is always a phenomenon that cannot be ignored. Whether in Congress, local government, or other various policy-making bodies, women's participation is significantly lower than that of men. So what is it about women who face so many obstacles in running for political office?
The political recruitment model not only describes the process of how a person becomes an elected official, but also reveals the barriers that prevent individuals from taking the next step.
According to the political recruitment model, the process is divided into four stages: qualifiers, aspirants, candidates, and legislators. Each stage has its own specific challenges, making the journey more difficult for women than for men.
Explanation of the political recruitment model
The first stage is "eligible," which includes anyone who is legally able to run for office. When qualified candidates have the ambition and desire to run, they enter the second stage and become "aspirants." However, the number of aspirants is usually less than the number of eligibles. Aspirants are further transformed into candidates when they decide to run and actually participate. Ultimately, the elected candidates become legislators.
The development of models of political recruitment helps us understand why women are held in political offices at lower rates than men.
The root causes of the gender gap
Many scholars use political recruitment models to analyze the shortcomings of women in political positions. They found that between the qualified and the aspirant, women were often unable to move up the ladder due to a lack of resources and ambition.
Supply barriers
The drop of women in the "qualified" to "desired" stages of the political recruitment model is mainly due to supply issues. This means that women lack sufficient motivation to participate in politics. Research shows that political ambition is an important factor affecting women's desires.
The impact of political ambition
Political ambition is an individual's desire to participate in public office. Research points out that women tend to be less aware than men of getting involved when considering running for office, and if they are interested, it's usually for lower-level positions. In addition, during the socialization process, girls are often instilled with the concept that "politics is a male domain", which affects their career expectations in the future.
According to research, when women participate in politics, their teenage aspirations and future educational achievements close the gender gap to a large extent.
Demand barriers
When women drop out of the pipeline from aspirant to candidate or candidate to legislator, the problem that often arises is a barrier to demand. This includes a lack of demand for female candidates among voters, party elites, and political institutions.
Voter bias
Voters create a barrier when it comes to expressing bias against female candidates. Barriers erected by political party thresholds can also affect women's success as candidates. In political systems with proportional representation, gender quota systems are often used to mandate the appearance of female candidates, thus reducing the demand barriers for political parties.
These analyzes point to a key question: Why is the gender gap still so stark today? Is it possible to usher in a new era of women's rise in politics while adapting to the changes?
