Why Women Don't Run

Abstract

Women are dramatically underrepresented in all of America's elective political institutions. Previous research has demonstrated that once women choose to become candidates they not only receive equal levels of party and financial support, but are just as likely as equally situated men to win. The primary reason for women's underrepresentation is that women are significantly less likely to choose to run than men. Using survey data from four different age cohorts in a central New York county, this paper provides some additional insight into why women are so much less likely to become candidates for political office than men. The findings suggest that a multiplicity of factors including political gender role socialization, a lack of political confidence, family responsibilities and the relatively few numbers of visible women role models in politics all contribute to why women don't run.