Submission Date

4-25-2022

Document Type

Paper

Department

Politics

Adviser

Rebecca Evans

Second Adviser

Ann Karreth

Committee Member

Christian Rice

Committee Member

Rebecca Evans

Committee Member

Ann Karreth

Department Chair

Rebecca Evans

Project Description

Since women make competitive candidates, what explains the fact that fewer women run for political office? This paper analyzes women's emergence as candidates and finds that expectations of gender discrimination, women's tendency to underestimate their own abilities, a lack of encouragement and role models, and greater party support and funding for male candidates have discouraged many women from running for political office. Interviews with women who have actually run for office reveal that they were motivated by a powerful sense of personal responsibility, whether as a reflection of deep values that they feel responsible to uphold, due to relationally embedded responsibilities toward their families and communities, or out of a sense of anger and urgency triggered by specific events.

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