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Candidate She?

Gender Gaps in Political Leadership

How do we narrow the gender gap?

  • Start early: by the time women are of college age, the gender gaps are very large, and there is no evidence that college education diminishes these gaps.

  • Create pathways between helping others and community service to political leadership. Mentoring and instrumental support are essential.

  • More research is needed to evaluate the impact of both gender-specific instructions and gender-specific programs on political leadership aspirations and skills.

  • Need to continue to address the race and class gap among women in both civic participation and political representation.

Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg and Nancy Thomas

from the CIRCLE Factsheet "Civic Engagement and Political Leadership among Women – a Call for Solutions"

Where are the gaps?

Race & Class

Expectations

  • Disparities by race and class among women are large

  • Women of color are less likely than White women to:
  • be connected to the local officials
  • vote in local elections,
  • attend meetings
  • trust neighbors
  • see friends and family

  • Women from lower socioeconomic background are less civically engaged and feel less encouraged to discuss politics or express opinions than more affluent women.
  • Women are expected to lead, but not as political leaders

  • Less encouraged to run for a political office (30% of women and 40% of men)

  • Parents, grandparents, teachers, religious leaders, coaches, and even friends all less likely to encourage women to run for office

  • Women are just as likely to be encouraged to run for student government positions as men

  • Only 6% of Americans believe that women are better suited for political leaders (21% think men are)

Interest

  • Young women show less interest in non-voting political engagement and political careers than men

  • The gender gap in discussion of political issues is expanding

  • Women do want change: more interested than men in changing social values and participating in a community action program

Confidence

Measurement

  • Women less likely than men to claim that they are qualified to run for political offices

  • Women are less likely than men to claim personal characteristics of political leadership, such as competitiveness and leadership skills

  • But public opinion polls suggest that women in general are thought to have more qualities of leaders
  • Standardized tests in civics do not measure dispositions, motivation or skills for political leadership because they were designed to measure factual knowledge

  • Relying on civics tests alone will not help identify or address the gender gap in political ambition

  • Measuring relevant dispositions and skill early on would help us understand when the gender gaps begin to emerge, and how to address them

May 9, 2013

Civic High Achievers, Few Leaders

  • Women are high academic achievers over men:
  • bachelor degrees (60% to 40%)
  • 4-year degrees by age 25 (30% to 25%)

  • Women are more civically engaged than men:
  • volunteering (24% to 18%)
  • membership in community associations (31% to 28%)
  • voting (55% to 47%).

  • Young women are more committed to service than young men, higher percentage of women:
  • take service learning courses
  • contribute many volunteering hours
  • serve in AmeriCorps and Teach for America

  • Girls perform as well as, if not better than, boys on civic knowledge tests such as NAEP.

Focus on CIRCLE’s research on obstacles and effective strategies for teaching civic engagement in general, and promoting increased civic engagement among girls and young women.

Yet . . .

  • Women are severely underrepresented in political office

  • Stagnant growth in female representation in elected offices for the past decade

  • Same pattern of high achievement and under representation in leadership positions in business , law, and higher education

http://www.civicyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Gender-and-Political-Leadership-Fact-Sheet-3.pdf

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