While the current COVID-19 pandemic underscores its importance, proving they can handle a crisis has consistently been important for women candidates and will continue to be so in the years to come. It is a key component of being seen as qualified, and, in previous Barbara Lee Family Foundation research, voters rated “can handle a crisis” as a top trait when assessing a woman’s electability.
There are so many types of crises—outbreaks or natural disasters, such as pandemics, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, or blizzards; and man-made disasters, such as mass shootings, industrial accidents and spills, infrastructure negligence, or the opioid epidemic—and the impact on each voter varies depending on their age, race, gender, geography, ability, and socioeconomic status. “Handling a crisis” may seem like a vague concept, but new Barbara Lee Family Foundation research shows voters have very concrete ideas about what makes a woman leader equipped to do so. CONT.
Barbara Lee Family Foundation
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