Why Are Women Still Not Running for Public Office?

Analyzes the factors behind women's underrepresentation in public office; the degree to which gender affects political ambition, perceptions of politics, and willingness to campaign; and the reasons women are less likely to run for office than men

Reconciling Family Roles With Political Ambition: The New Normal For Women In Twenty-First Century U.S. Politics

Based on data from the 2011 Citizen Political Ambition Study - a national survey of nearly 4,000 potential candidates for all levels of office - we provide the first thorough analysis of the manner in which traditional family arrangements affect the initial decision to run for office. Our findings reveal that traditional family dynamics do not account for the gender gap in political ambition. Neither marital and parental status, nor the division of labor pertaining to household tasks and child care, predicts potential candidates\u27 political ambition. This is not to downplay the fact that the gender gap in political ambition remains substantial and static or that traditional family roles affect whether women make it into the candidate eligibility pool in the first place. But it is to suggest that family arrangements are not a primary factor explaining why female potential candidates exhibit lower levels of political ambition than do men. Because women remain less likely than men to exhibit political ambition even in the face of stringent controls, the lack of explanatory power conferred by family arrangements highlights that other barriers to women\u27s emergence as candidates clearly merit continued investigation

Gender Stereotyping in State Executive Elections: Candidate Selection and Success

Research on gender stereotypes has found that voters ascribe certain beliefs and traits to candidates based on the candidate\u27s sex. Most of this research relies on experimental data and examines stereotyping solely in terms of voter decision making. In contrast, we examine state executive office elections to determine if stereotypes influence both candidate selection and success. State executive elections are ideal for studying gender stereotypes as many of the offices focus on specific policy issues that correspond with stereotypical competencies of male and female candidates. We find considerable support for our expectation of an interaction between candidate sex and office type in candidate selection: women are less likely to run for offices that are inconsistent with their stereotypical strengths and, beginning in 1990, somewhat more likely to run for stereotypically consistent offices. In terms of candidate success, however, we do not find that women\u27s likelihood of winning varies strongly across office types. Ultimately, our work demonstrates that stereotyping is more likely during candidate selection than has previously been documented, and strongly suggests that we must examine more closely the processes by which women become candidates for elective office

If Only They\u27d Ask: Gender, Recruitment, and Political Ambition

Based on data from the second wave of the Citizen Political Ambition Panel Study-our national survey of more than 2,000 potential candidates in 2008-we provide the first thorough analysis of the manner in which gender interacts with political recruitment in the candidate eligibility pool. Our findings are striking. Highly qualified and politically well-connected women from both major political parties are less likely than similarly situated men to be recruited to run for public office by all types of political actors. They are less likely than men to be recruited intensely. And they are less likely than men to be recruited by multiple sources. Although we paint a picture of a political recruitment process that seems to suppress women\u27s inclusion, we also offer the first evidence of the significant headway women\u27s organizations are making in their efforts to mitigate the recruitment gap, especially among Democrats. These findings are critically important because women\u27s recruitment disadvantage depresses their political ambition and ultimately hinders their emergence as candidates

Gaining and Losing Interest in Running for Public Office: The Concept of Dynamic Political Ambition

Considering a candidacy for public office involves pondering the courageous step of going before an electorate and facing potential examination, scrutiny, and rejection. Anyone who contemplates running for office, therefore, must answer a series of questions. Is the time right to inject my family into the political arena? Where am I in terms of my professional goals? Do I know enough about the issues and the political system to run for office? Am I in sync with my potential constituents on the issues that matter most? Have electoral gatekeepers indicated support for my foray into politics? Do I really want to take part in a political process that is so often associated with self-interest, corruption, and cynicism? In short, a variety of personal, professional, and political circumstances-circumstances that often change over time-undoubtedly affect the extent to which someone considers entering the electoral arena

The Invincible Gender Gap in Political Ambition

When we uncovered a large gender gap in political ambition in the early 2000s, our research highlighted how far the United States was from gender parity in politics. Given marked increases in women’s numeric representation throughout the past two decades, many might expect the gender gap in political ambition to have begun to close. Results from our new study of potential candidates, however, reveal that the magnitude of the gender gap is just as large 20 years later, and two primary explanations persist as well. We posit that even though candidate recruitment has propelled more women into electoral politics, patterns of traditional gender socialization persist. These dynamics, coupled with negative perceptions of how female candidates are treated, continue to depress women’s interest in elective office. As long as running for office is a more remote endeavor for women than men, women’s full political inclusion will remain a distant goal

Uncovering the Origins of the Gender Gap in Political Ambition

Based on survey responses from a national random sample of nearly 4,000 high school and college students, we uncover a dramatic gender gap in political ambition. This finding serves as striking evidence that the gap is present well before women and men enter the professions from which most candidates emerge. We then use political socialization—which we gauge through a myriad of socializing agents and early life experiences—as a lens through which to explain the individual-level differences we uncover. Our analysis reveals that parental encouragement, politicized educational and peer experiences, participation in competitive activities, and a sense of self-confidence propel young people\u27s interest in running for office. But on each of these dimensions, women, particularly once they are in college, are at a disadvantage. By identifying when and why gender differences in interest in running for office materialize, we begin to uncover the origins of the gender gap in political ambition. Taken together, our results suggest that concerns about substantive and symbolic representation will likely persist

Does Public Health Policy Matter?: Explaining Variation in COVID-19 Outcomes Across the 50 States

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted debate about what factors cause wide variations in mortality and infection rates across the United States and raised questions about what can be done to limit the spread of future outbreaks. In the comparative international politics literature, there are four explanations that determine how well a country can contain outbreaks: leadership, state capacity, demographics, and state culture. Currently, there are no studies that show a comprehensive evaluation of what has caused variations in mortality rate among the fifty states. This study aims to examine state variation among the 50 states in the U.S. and its influence on Covid-19 infection and mortality rate. The study will utilize a mixed-method approach to determine which factors have the most impact on mortality and infection rate. Using a multivariate and case study analysis, I aim to show how the four explanations predicted the pandemic case and death rates. In the findings of this study, I found that several factors, including Republican party control, urbanization, and race, predicted a state’s Covid-19 outcomes. The purpose of this study is to urge states to repair weaknesses in pandemic response plans, address structural discrimination within the healthcare system, and facilitate national cooperation that will better equip states with the ability to contain an outbreak

Bovine leukosis (1993)

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is characterized by the development of tumors of lymphatic tissues (lymphosarcoma), such as the thymus, spleen and lymph nodes. These specialized organs are an integral component of the defense system that protects the animal against infection by producing antibodies and specialized cells which attack bacteria or viruses