The eventual election of Kamala Harris, a black, Asian-American woman, as president of the USA can be a historic event on multiple levels, as reported by vita.gr.
As researchers in the field of political communication explain, this is a possible possibility if we consider the more positive characteristics that a large part of voters attribute to female politicians.
In the past, stereotypes prevented female candidates from advancing, portraying them as emotional, sensitive, and even weak.
Now, new research published in Political Behavior reveals that US voters increasingly view female leaders as synonymous with political leadership, even as more effective than male politicians.
As the researchers behind the study report in The Conversation, this shift reflects a broader shift in voters’ expectations of political leaders, as they now seem more likely to see a female candidate as a better fit for public office.
This could “pave” the way for Kamala Harris to “break” the highest “glass ceiling” of American politics.
The case of the “double bind” for Kamala Harris
Gender stereotypes are the assumptions and expectations we have formed about men and women, which tend to be limiting.
Among the many obstacles a woman encounters on the road to political leadership are gender stereotypes. Male political candidates are usually assigned “masculine” characteristics, such as being ambitious and competitive, while female candidates are assigned “feminine” characteristics, such as being compassionate or warm-hearted.
So taking gender stereotypes into account, voters end up having very different expectations of male and female candidates. This constitutes a “double problem” for female leaders, a term attributed in the scientific literature as “double bind”.
If they behave as leaders and act assertively, they act outside of expectations of “feminine” characteristics. But if they behave according to the stereotypes then they are not considered strong leadership figures.
The phenomenon also extends to politics
In the past, the characteristics of male politicians, but not female politicians, aligned with the leadership qualities voters wanted their political leaders to have, according to research published in the Journal of Politics.
These characteristics include competence, strong leadership, empathy and integrity.
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