The Image of Gender and Political Leadership

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This study presents the first multi-country, factorial experiment on candidate gender, designed to minimize social desirability bias and quantitatively assess the importance of gender alongside party effect size. Conducted across eight countries—Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, England, Israel, Sweden, Uruguay, and the U.S.—the research examines established democracies with varying levels of women's representation in government and different electoral systems. Participants, drawn from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, contribute to a multi-dimensional framework that explores how context influences perceptions of leadership, leading to 11 hypotheses. The methodology includes a 2x2x2 experimental design featuring candidate speeches infused with partisan jargon, with detailed analysis through ANOVA techniques. In-country experts interpret the findings in relation to significant historical and contemporary events in dedicated country chapters, culminating in a meta-analysis of the hypotheses. The primary conclusion reveals that traditional views of leadership as male-centric prevail only when defense issues dominate the political landscape. In more varied contexts, participants show acceptance of women candidates as leaders, reflecting a positive shift in young adults' perceptions of women's capabilities in diverse roles and traditionally masculine policy areas.