Explicit Gender Stereotyping in Canadian Politics

In this research note, we document the extent to which negative beliefs about women's capacity to hold public office are widespread in Canada. Using a list experiment, our results demonstrate that many Canadians believe that men are “naturally better” leaders than are women and that women are “...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of political science 2023-03, Vol.56 (1), p.209-221
Main Authors: Chen, Philip, Thomas, Melanee, Harell, Allison, Gosselin, Tania
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agreements
Bias
Canadians
Candidates
Gender
Gender stereotypes
Media coverage
Older people
Political leadership
Politicians
Politics
Polls & surveys
Research Note/Note de recherche
Roles
Sexism
Social desirability
Stereotypes
Women
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Summary:In this research note, we document the extent to which negative beliefs about women's capacity to hold public office are widespread in Canada. Using a list experiment, our results demonstrate that many Canadians believe that men are “naturally better” leaders than are women and that women are “too emotional” and “too nice” for politics. While some groups are willing to explicitly own these views when asked directly about them (for example, older people, men, those who are more conservative and religious), others are unwilling to do so unless social desirability is mitigated (for example, younger people, left-leaning). By overcoming concerns with social desirability, we show that women still face explicit, often sexist, barriers in political work.
ISSN:0008-4239
1744-9324
DOI:10.1017/S0008423922000890