Beyond Double Standards: How Gender Conditions Political Responsibility

Abstract

On average, women are both higher-quality candidates and stronger performers in political office, compared to their male colleagues. Yet, men and women perform equally well at the ballot box. Is this because high-achieving women self select into running for political office, is it because women act strategically in anticipation of gender bias, or is it because women are held to different performance standards? If women are held to stricter performance standards in office, or given credit for policy accomplishments in systematically different ways, then this may help us understand not only why gender disparities in descriptive representation remain so pronounced, but also why women so often face the proverbial glass ceiling in their access to higher and more prestigious positions. In this dissertation project, I explore these crucial questions. I take a multi-method approach to understand the interactive effects of gender and party on evaluations of officeholder performance and the attribution of political responsibility.