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.
Recommended Citation
Peabody, Abigail, "Candidate Emergence Among Women: Responsibility to Run" (2022). Politics Honors Papers. 14.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pol_hon/14
