The Conversation

Study Says Women Might Not Run for Election Because They're Afraid of Being Judged

While the number of women holding office has certainly increased over the past decade (even the past year), we're still lagging behind men with only four current women governors (and 21 states that have never had one), according to the Center for American Women in Politics. And the numbers in Congress aren't much better, not to mention the White House. But why? A new study says that women might actually be "election adverse" not because we don't want to lead but because we don't want to be judged. The University of Pittsburgh study by two political science professors, Kristin Kanthak and Jonathan Woon, looked at men and women with similar qualifications, ambitions, and political environments. Then, in an experiment created for the study, the researchers grouped men and women together and asked members to volunteer to do a math problem for a reward. Equal amounts of men and women volunteered when they knew the problem solver would be chosen at random; however, when the problem solver was elected, the volunteers were primarily men. So, the issue wasn't actually standing up to do the problem; the issue was being voted on by the group. It's tough to say exactly why women

While the number of women holding office has certainly increased over the past decade (even the past year), we're still lagging behind men with only four current women governors (and 21 states that have never had one), according to the Center for American Women in Politics. And the numbers in Congress aren't much better, not to mention the White House. But why? A new study says that women might actually be "election adverse" not because we don't want to lead but because we don't want to be judged.

The University of Pittsburgh study by two political science professors, Kristin Kanthak and Jonathan Woon, looked at men and women with similar qualifications, ambitions, and political environments. Then, in an experiment created for the study, the researchers grouped men and women together and asked members to volunteer to do a math problem for a reward. Equal amounts of men and women volunteered when they knew the problem solver would be chosen at random; however, when the problem solver was elected, the volunteers were primarily men. So, the issue wasn't actually standing up to do the problem; the issue was being voted on by the group.

It's tough to say exactly why women would be fearful of being judged. Amanda Marcotte at Slate believes that "women know, from experience, that the process of having a group evaluate your worthiness is a much more punishing experience for women, because you have to endure greater and more candid scrutiny than men do."

However, The New York Times reports that young women have fewer political ambitions than young men, according to a report released last March by American University. Why? Besides external social factors like traditional gender roles and watching political news, of the 2,100 college women interviewed, "young women are less likely than young men to think they will be qualified to run for office." Kanthak hardly seemed shocked by the study's findings, telling the Times, "If women aren't willing to ask for raises, we shouldn't be surprised that they're not willing to ask for votes."

Of course, there are plenty of women in politics who have been more than willing to step up—Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Barbara Boxer, and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Texas state Senator Wendy Davis, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and former U.S. Secretary of State and potential 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, to name several. And it's a good thing we have female leaders in government: The American Association of University Women stresses the importance of having women in politics, pointing out on its website that "women in office are more likely to bring up women's issues because they've lived them." So important, and so true.

Would being voted on, say, to lead a project at work, make you nervous? Motivated? Excited? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.