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"This fascinating book debunks the most commonly offered explanation for why progress toward gender parity in elected representation has stalled. Surprisingly, Brooks finds that male and female politicians are subject to similar expectations from voters, suggesting that our widespread belief in a double standard is an impediment to encouraging more women to run for office. Good news seldom makes headlines, but Brooks' findings need to be widely disseminated."
--Diana Mutz, University of Pennsylvania"This is one of the most important books about gender and politics written in the last twenty-five years. It challenges what we know and is sure to influence how we think about gender.
He Runs, She Runs is required reading for anyone interested in the role of women in the workings of democracy."
--James Druckman, Northwestern University"
He Runs, She Runs is a provocative analysis of gender stereotypes in U.S. campaigns. With original experimental data, Brooks sheds light on when stereotypes do and don't matter. This engaging book provides important insights into gender and candidacy, and is a valuable contribution to the field."
--Kira Sanbonmatsu, Rutgers University"It seems almost a given that women face a range of disadvantages as political candidates. In this book, Brooks does a masterful job setting up the conventional wisdom before showing that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Accessible, timely, and important,
He Runs, She Runs takes on a question that will interest a wide range of people--scholars and political observers alike."
--Marc J. Hetherington, Vanderbilt University
List of contents
Tables ix Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Theoretical Foundations 15 Chapter 3 How to Study Gender Stereotype Usage and Double Standards in Campaigns 39 Chapter 4 Descriptive Candidate Gender Stereotypes and the Role of Candidate Experience 59 Chapter 5 Tears and Anger on the Campaign Trail 82 Chapter 6 Unbinding the Double Bind 110 Chapter 7 Knowledge Gaffes 132 Chapter 8 Reassessing the Parity Problem 143 Chapter 9 A Bright Future for Women in Politics 163 Appendix 1 Text of Newspaper Treatments 177 Appendix 2 Questionnaire 185 Appendix 3 How the Public Responds to Each Behavior 188 Appendix 4 How the Public Responds to Candidate Experience 191 Appendix 5 Results for Candidate Experience * Candidate Gender 192 Appendix 6 Results for Candidate Gender (Control Group only) 194 Appendix 7 Results for Crying * Candidate Gender 195 Appendix 8 Results for Anger * Candidate Gender 196 Appendix 9 Results for Toughness * Candidate Gender 197 Appendix 10 Results for Lack of Empathy * Candidate Gender 198 Appendix 11 Results for Knowledge Gaffe * Candidate Gender 199 References 201 Index 217
About the author
Deborah Jordan Brooks is associate professor of government at Dartmouth College. Previously, she was a senior research director at the Gallup Organization.
Summary
While there are far more women in public office today than in previous eras, women are still vastly underrepresented in this area relative to men. Conventional wisdom suggests that a key reason is because female candidates start out at a disadvantage with the public, compared to male candidates, and then face higher standards for their behavior and
Additional text
"A valuable contribution to the literature on politics and gender. . . . This is a clearly written and carefully argued book."---Erika Kispéter, Identities
