… We can easily conjure up anecdotal examples of high-level women candidates who have been subjected to criticism and attacks because of their age (too young or too old), appearance (too beautiful or too plain), or family status (whether mothers or childless). … However, look closer and you will see […] Read more »
Walking Loudly and Carrying a Big Stick
… This female-male divergence of opinions is an enduring characteristic of polls on the use of military force and generally persists regardless of the weapons system employed, military mission undertaken, whether the intervening force is unilateral or multilateral, and the strategic objective proposed. The gap is also one that is […] Read more »
Voters don’t care how women in politics look
Of late, the press’s tendency to cover the style choices of women in politics has attracted a bit of controversy. … We find that women don’t pay a higher price than men for coverage of their appearance. Unflattering coverage does hurt, but it lowers voters’ assessments of both men and […] Read more »
Breadwinning Wives and Nervous Husbands
… But the evidence suggests that while men tend to applaud their spouses when they help to bring home the bacon, husbands aren’t always as enthusiastic when women start bringing home the filet mignon. And it’s especially troubling that these old-fashioned social norms about gender identity appear to be adversely […] Read more »
Out, damned spot: The ‘mindbugs’ of bias that sneak into our brains
For more than 30 years, psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald have been studying the unconscious biases that take root in our brains, coloring everything from hiring decisions to how doctors mete out medical care and judges pass sentence. If you don’t think you harbor any such mental stowaways, tugging […] Read more »
Why did women do so well in 2012? Because gender bias is declining
… Why did women, most of whom were Democrats, do well in 2012? Observers have offered numerous explanations, including controversial comments about rape and abortion by “self-immolating” Republican candidates, an election-year focus on women’s health issues, redistricting, or a favorable electoral environment for the Democratic Party. But here’s another: gender […] Read more »