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Before Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Gendered Party Leadership Contests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2015

Karen Beckwith
Karen Beckwith*
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University
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Given that most national executives have been men, it is a commonplace to observe that access to executive power is gendered. Men have historically served as heads of government, and few women have been presidents or prime ministers. Women's numbers are increasing, however, as is research focusing on women who have achieved national executive leadership (e.g., Jalalzai 2013; Murray 2010). Such research has emphasized women's individual resources and credentials, family background, and political experience as factors contributing to their political success; research focusing on the strategic and institutional structural factors that contribute to this success has been rare.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 718 - 745
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2015 

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