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Tag: Political ambition

  • An Early Leak in the Pipeline – Online Abuse as a Barrier for Young Women’s Political Engagement

    An Early Leak in the Pipeline – Online Abuse as a Barrier for Young Women’s Political Engagement

    Does online abuse prevent young women from entering politics? Höhmann, Latteier, and Bailer (2025) show that gender-targeted online harassment pushes young women to leave political work before their careers even start.

    The authors examine how often online abuse happens on social media, what form it takes, and how it shapes the decision to pursue a political path among young party members. Drawing on an original survey of youth party members in Switzerland, their findings point to clear gender differences in both the type and the consequences of this abuse. Young women are significantly more likely to be attacked specifically because of their gender. In addition, female members are more likely to report that their personal experiences with social media abuse create real obstacles to their political work and serve as a direct reason to step down. Ultimately, Höhmann, Latteier, and Bailer conclude that online abuse discourages many young women from running for office before their political journeys have even begun.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Höhmann, D., Latteier, T., & Bailer, S. (2025). An Early Leak in the Pipeline – Online Abuse as a Barrier for Young Women’s Political Engagement. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 46(4), 300–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2025.2552573

  • This One’s for the Boys: How Gendered Political Socialization Limits Girls’ Political Ambition and Interest

    This One’s for the Boys: How Gendered Political Socialization Limits Girls’ Political Ambition and Interest

    When and why does the political ambition gap between women and men originate? Bos et al. (2022) develop and test a new framework of “gendered political socialization” to demonstrate how childhood perceptions of politics restrict girls’ political interest and aspirations from an early age.

    Drawing on data from 1,604 children across four distinct regions in the United States, the study examines how young people conceptualize gender within the political domain and how these views shape early differences in political ambition. The authors find that children readily view politics as a male-dominated environment, with girls increasingly viewing political leadership as a “man’s world” as they mature. Concurrently, as children age, they internalize societal gender expectations that channel their career aspirations toward roles deemed congruent with their own gender. This perceived mismatch between women and political life leads girls to demonstrate systematically lower levels of political interest and ambition compared to boys, identifying early socialization as a critical source of long-term gender disparities in governance.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Bos, A. L., Greenlee, J. S., Holman, M. R., Oxley, Z. M., & Lay, J. C. (2022). This One’s for the Boys: How Gendered Political Socialization Limits Girls’ Political Ambition and Interest. American Political Science Review, 116(2), 484–501. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421001027

  • Gender, race, and political ambition: how intersectionality and frames influence interest in political office

    Gender, race, and political ambition: how intersectionality and frames influence interest in political office

    How do explanations for women’s underrepresentation shape their desire to run for office? Holman and Schneider (2018) show that framing the issue as supply versus demand changes women’s political ambition, with key differences across racial groups.

    Men continue to dominate political institutions in the United States. Media and academic discussions often focus on two types of obstacles that lower women’s representation: demand factors, such as political parties and elite networks, and supply factors, such as women’s self-confidence and political interest. Still, little is known about whether these narratives affect women’s ambition to run for office, or how they influence women of color.

    Holman and Schneider demonstrate that attributing women’s underrepresentation to supply versus demand causes clear changes in political ambition. When the lack of parity is blamed on demand factors, white and Asian women can dismiss the possibility that failure is due to their own abilities, which increases their political ambition. Conversely, framing underrepresentation around supply factors lowers ambition for white and Asian women, possibly because of stereotype threat. Black women respond in the opposite way, showing decreased ambition in demand scenarios, while Latinas are unaffected by these narratives. Overall, the authors’ findings show how framing intersects with racial and ethnic identity to shape political ambition.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Holman, M. R., & Schneider, M. C. (2018). Gender, race, and political ambition: How intersectionality and frames influence interest in political office. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 6(2), 264–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2016.1208105