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The Ties That Double Bind: Social Roles and Women's Underrepresentation in Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2018

DAWN LANGAN TEELE*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
JOSHUA KALLA*
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
FRANCES ROSENBLUTH*
Affiliation:
Yale University
*
Dawn Langan Teele is a Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 208 S. 37th St., Room 217, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6215, (412) 400-9578 (teele.academic@gmail.com).
Joshua Kalla is a Ph.D. Student, University of California, Berkeley, 210 Barrows Hall #1950, Berkeley, CA 94720-1950, (412) 860-9271 (josh.kalla@gmail.com).
Frances Rosenbluth is a Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, Yale University, frances.rosenbluth@yale.edu, 115 Prospect St., 3rd floor, New Haven, CT 06511, (203) 432-5256 (frances.rosenbluth@yale.edu).

Abstract

This paper theorizes three forms of bias that might limit women's representation: outright hostility, double standards, and a double bind whereby desired traits present bigger burdens for women than men. We examine these forms of bias using conjoint experiments derived from several original surveys—a population survey of American voters and two rounds of surveys of American public officials. We find no evidence of outright discrimination or of double standards. All else equal, most groups of respondents prefer female candidates, and evaluate men and women with identical profiles similarly. But on closer inspection, all is not equal. Across the board, elites and voters prefer candidates with traditional household profiles such as being married and having children, resulting in a double bind for many women. So long as social expectations about women's familial commitments cut against the demands of a full-time political career, women are likely to remain underrepresented in politics.

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Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2018 

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Teele et al. supplementary material 1

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