Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T07:50:14.120Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

External threat environments and individual bias against female leaders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2021

Nam Kyu Kim Open the ORCID record for Nam Kyu Kim [Opens in a new window]  and
Alice J. Kang
Nam Kyu Kim*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Alice J. Kang
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Institute for Ethnic Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: namkkim1@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We argue that a country's international security context influences individual bias against female leaders and propose three mechanisms: by increasing individual demand for defense, by shaping individual ideological orientations, and by increasing society's level of militarization. Using survey data of more than 200,000 individuals in 84 countries, we show the more hostile the country's security environment, the more individuals are likely to agree that men make better political leaders than do women. We also find support for some of our proposed mechanisms and that the effect of security environments is greater for men than women. Our study presents the first cross-national evidence that the country's international security environment correlates with bias against women leaders.

Keywords

comparative politicsgender and politicsinternational securitypolitical behavior
Type
Original Article
Information
Political Science Research and Methods , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agerberg, M and Kreft, A-K (2020) Gendered conflict, gendered outcomes: the politicization of sexual violence and quota adoption. Journal of Conflict Resolution 64, 290–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alexander, AC (2012) Change in women's descriptive representation and the belief in women's ability to govern: a virtuous cycle. Politics & Gender 8, 437–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alexander, A and Welzel, C (2011) Islam and patriarchy: how robust is Muslim support for patriarchal values?. International Review of Sociology 21, 249–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altemeyer, RA and Altemeyer, B (1996) The Authoritarian Specter. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Anders, T, Fariss, CJ and Markowitz, JN (2020) Bread before guns or butter: introducing Surplus Domestic Product (SDP). International Studies Quarterly, 64, 392–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, TD and Córdova, A (2016) Making space for women: explaining citizen support for legislative gender quotas in Latin America. The Journal of Politics 78, 670–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, TD and O'Brien, DZ (2018) Defending the realm: the appointment of female defense ministers worldwide. American Journal of Political Science 62, 355–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berinsky, AJ (2009) In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bjarnegård, E and Melander, E (2011) Disentangling gender, peace and democratization: the negative effects of militarized masculinity. Journal of Gender Studies 20, 139–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caprioli, M (2000) Gendered conflict. Journal of Peace Research 37, 51–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chatagnier, JT and Castelli, E (2019) The arc of modernization: economic structure, materialism, and the onset of civil conflict. Political Science Research and Methods 7, 233–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, DK (2013) Explaining rape during civil war: cross-national evidence (1980–2009). American Political Science Review 107, 461–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dube, O and Harish, SP (2020) Queens. Journal of Political Economy 128, 2579–2652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duckitt, J. (2001) Adual-process cognitive-motivational theory of ideology and prejudice. In Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 33. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 41–113.Google Scholar
Duckitt, J and Fisher, K (2003) The impact of social threat on worldview and ideological attitudes. Political Psychology 24, 199–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eagly, AH and Karau, SJ (2002) Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review 109, 573–598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eichenberg, RC (2003) Gender differences in public attitudes toward the use of force by the United States, 1990–2003. International Security 28, 110–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eichenberg, RC (2019) Gender, War, and World Order: A Study of Public Opinion. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elshtain, JB (1995) Women and War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Enloe, CH (1983) Does Khaki Become You?: The Militarisation of Women's Lives. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Falk, E and Kenski, K (2006) Issue saliency and gender stereotypes: support for women as presidents in times of war and terrorism. Social Science Quarterly 87, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, S (2003) Enforcing social conformity: a theory of authoritarianism. Political Psychology 24, 41–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geva, N and Taylor-Robinson, MM (2019) Traditional or modern leadership templates? A meta-analysis of experiments in eight democracies. Unpublished paper.Google Scholar
Gibler, DM, Hutchison, ML and Miller, SV (2012) Individual identity attachments and international conflict: the importance of territorial threat. Comparative Political Studies 45, 1655–1683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goertz, G, Diehl, PF and Balas, A (2016) The Puzzle of Peace: The Evolution of Peace in the International System. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstein, JS (2003) War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Head, K and Mayer, T (2014) Gravity equations: workhorse, toolkit, and cookbook. In Gopinath G, Helpman E and Rogoff K (eds),Handbook of International Economics, vol. 4. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 131–195.Google Scholar
Holman, MR, Merolla, JL and Zechmeister, EJ (2016) Terrorist threat, male stereotypes, and candidate evaluations. Political Research Quarterly 69, 134–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, L and Terkildsen, N (1993) Gender stereotypes and the perception of male and female candidates. American Journal of Political Science 37, 119–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, VM, Caprioli, M, Ballif-Spanvill, B, McDermott, R and Emmett, CF (2009) The heart of the matter: the security of women and the security of states. International Security 33, 7–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, MM and Tripp, AM (2015) Civil war and trajectories of change in women's political representation in Africa, 1985–2010. Social Forces 93, 1513–1540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchison, ML and Gibler, DM (2007) Political tolerance and territorial threat: a cross-national study. The Journal of Politics 69, 128–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R and Norris, P (2003) Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, KF (1994) Does gender make a difference? An experimental examination of sex stereotypes and press patterns in statewide campaigns. American Journal of Political Science 38, 162–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kang, AJ and Kim, NK (2020) Territorial threat and women's legislative representation. Democratization 27, 340–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, NK (2019) External territorial threats and military regimes. Political Research Quarterly 72, 864–877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, MT and Fulton, SA (2011) In the defense of women: gender, office holding, and national security policy in established democracies. The Journal of Politics 73, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawless, JL (2004) Women, war, and winning elections: gender stereotyping in the post-September 11th era. Political Research Quarterly 57, 479–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markowitz, JN and Fariss, CJ (2018) Power, proximity, and democracy: geopolitical competition in the international system. Journal of Peace Research 55, 78–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, R (2015) Sex and death: gender differences in aggression and motivations for violence. International Organization 69, 753–775.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, SV (2017) Individual-level expectations of executive authority under territorial threat. Conflict management and peace science 34, 526–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moon, S (2005) Militarized Modernity and Gendered Citizenship in South Korea. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Morgan, J and Buice, M (2013) Latin American attitudes toward women in politics: the influence of elite cues, female advancement, and individual characteristics. American Political Science Review 107, 644–662.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onraet, E, Van Hiel, A, Dhont, K and Pattyn, S (2013) Internal and external threat in relationship with right-wing attitudes. Journal of Personality 81, 233–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sasson-Levy, O (2007) Contradictory consequences of mandatory conscription the case of women secretaries in the Israeli Military. Gender & Society 21, 481–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, MC and Bos, AL (2014) Measuring stereotypes of female politicians: measuring stereotypes of female politicians. Political Psychology 35, 245–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schroeder, T (2017) When security dominates the agenda. Journal of Conflict Resolution 16, 564–589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seguino, S (2011) Help or Hindrance? Religion's impact on gender inequality in attitudes and outcomes. World Development 39, 1308–1321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sibley, CG, Wilson, MS and Duckitt, J (2007) Antecedents of men's hostile and benevolent sexism: the dual roles of social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 33, 160–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stellmacher, J and Petzel, T (2005) Authoritarianism as a group phenomenon. Political Psychology 26, 245–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stenner, K (2005) The Authoritarian Dynamic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tir, J and Bailey, M (2018) Painting too ‘Rosie’ a picture: the impact of external threat on women's economic welfare. Conflict Management and Peace Science 35, 248–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tripp, AM (2015) Women and Power in Post-Conflict Africa. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waltz, KN (1979) Theory of International Politics. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: Link

Kim and Kang Dataset

Dataset

https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/GVKQQN
Link
Supplementary material: PDF

Kim and Kang supplementary material

Kim and Kang supplementary material

Download Kim and Kang supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 293.8 KB