Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:44:45.140Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does the Descriptive Representation of Gender Influence Accountability for Substantive Representation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2014

Philip Edward Jones
Philip Edward Jones*
Affiliation:
University of Delaware
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Does the descriptive representation of gender affect how constituents respond to their legislators' substantive policy records? Previous work offers two distinctly opposing theories: the first, that descriptive representation may weaken accountability for substantive representation, if it leads female constituents to misperceive the incumbent's positions or give them a “free pass” on policy congruence; the second, that it may strengthen accountability, if it leads female constituents to pay greater attention to the incumbent and his or her record. Using survey data from three electoral cycles, I show that women are more likely to correctly identify their U.S. senators' policy records and weigh that record more heavily in their evaluations when they are represented by women. The descriptive representation of gender thus strengthens the links between the policy positions legislators take in office and how they are evaluated by their constituents.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 175 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ansolabehere, Stephen, and Jones, Philip Edward. 2010. “Constituents' Responses to Congressional Roll Call Voting.” American Journal of Political Science 54 (3): 583–97.Google Scholar
Atkeson, Lonna Rae. 2003. “Not All Cues Are Created Equal: The Conditional Impact of Female Candidates on Political Engagement.” Journal of Politics 65 (4): 1040–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkeson, Lonna Rae, and Carrillo, Nancy. 2007. “More is Better: The Influence of Collective Female Descriptive Representation on External Efficacy.” Politics & Gender 3 (1): 79–101.Google Scholar
Banducci, Susan A., Donovan, Todd, and Karp, Jeffrey A.. 2004. “Minority Representation, Empowerment, and Participation.” Journal of Politics 66 (2): 534–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banwart, Mary Christine. 2007. “Gender and Young Voters in 2004: The Influence of Perceived Knowledge and Interest.” American Behavioral Scientist 50 (9): 1152–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence, and Gilliam, Franklin D.. 1990. “Race, Sociopolitical Participation, and Black Empowerment.” American Political Science Review 84 (2): 377–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M., Kimball, David C., Meinke, Scott R., and Tate, Katherine. 2003. “The Effects of Political Representation on the Electoral Advantages of Incumbents.” Political Research Quarterly 56: 259–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, Nancy, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, and Verba, Sidney. 2001. The Private Roots of Public Action: Gender, Equality, and Political Participation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, David E., and Wolbrecht, Christina. 2006. “See Jane Run: Women Politicians as Role Models for Adolescents.” Journal of Politics 68 (2): 233–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli-Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know About Politics and Why it Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Ditonto, Tessa M., Hamilton, Allison J., and Redlawsk, David P.. 2013. “Gender Stereotypes, Information Search, and Voting Behavior in Political Campaigns.” Political Behavior. doi: 10.1007/s11109-013-9232-6.Google Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 1998. “Voting for Women in the ‘Year of the Woman’.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (1): 272–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 2008. “Is There a ‘Gender Affinity Effect’ in American Politics? Information, Affect, and Candidate Sex in U.S. House Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 61 (1): 79–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 2011. “Do Women and Men Know Different Things? Measuring Gender Differences in Political Knowledge.” Journal of Politics 73 (1): 97–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 2014. “Gender Stereotypes, Candidate Evaluations, and Voting for Women Candidates: What Really Matters?” Political Research Quarterly 67 (1): 96–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dow, Jay K. 2009. “Gender Differences in Political Knowledge: Distinguishing Characteristics-Based and Returns-Based Differences.” Political Behavior 31 (1): 117–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenno, Richard F. 1978. Home Style: House Members in their Districts. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Fenno, Richard F.. 2003. Going Home: Black Representatives and Their Constituents. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franklin, Charles H. 1991. “Eschewing Obfuscation? Campaigns and the Perception of U.S. Senate Incumbents.” American Political Science Review 85 (4): 1193–1214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gay, Claudine. 2002. “Spirals of Trust? The Effect of Descriptive Representation on the Relationship Between Citizens and Their Government.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (4): 717–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gidengil, Elisabeth, Giles, Janine, and Thomas, Melanee. 2008. “The Gender Gap in Self-Perceived Understanding of Politics in Canada and the United States.” Politics & Gender 4 (4): 535–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, Susan B. 1997. “Talking About Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing.” Journal of Politics 59 (1): 73–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Danny. 2011. “When Gender and Party Collide: Stereotyping in Candidate Trait Attribution.” Politics & Gender 7 (2):133–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
High-Pippert, Angela, and Comer, John. 1998. “Female Empowerment: The Influence of Women Representing Women.” Women and Politics 19 (4): 53–66.Google Scholar
Jones, Philip Edward. 2011. “Which Buck Stops Here? Accountability for Policy Positions and Policy Outcomes in Congress.” Journal of Politics 73 (3): 764–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karp, Jeffrey A., and Banducci, Susan A.. 2008. “When Politics is not Just a Man's Game: Women's Representation and Political Engagement.” Electoral Studies 27 (1):105–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koch, Jeffrey. 1997. “Candidate Gender and Women's Psychological Engagement in Politics.” American Politics Research 25 (1): 118–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawless, Jennifer L. 2004. “Politics of Presence? Congresswomen and Symbolic Representation.” Political Research Quarterly 57 (1): 81–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, Eric, Binder, Sarah, and Maltzman, Forrest. 2011. “The Impact of Party Cues on Citizen Evaluations of Senators.” Congress and the Presidency 38 (1): 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. “Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent ‘Yes’.” Journal of Politics 61 (3): 628–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Paul S. 2003. “Voting's Rewards: Voter Turnout, Attentive Publics, and Congressional Allocation of Federal Money.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (1): 110–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mondak, Jeffrey J., and Anderson, Mary R.. 2004. “The Knowledge Gap: A Reexamination of Gender-Based Differences in Political Knowledge.” Journal of Politics 66 (2): 492–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philpot, Tasha S., and Walton, Hanes. 2007. “One of Our Own: Black Female Candidates and the Voters Who Support Them.” American Journal of Political Science 51 (1): 49–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reingold, Beth, and Harrell, Jessica. 2010. “The Impact of Descriptive Representation on Women's Political Engagement.” Political Research Quarterly 63 (2): 280–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Cindy Simon. 1995. “The Role of Gender in Descriptive Representation.” Political Research Quarterly 48 (3): 599–611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinclair, Barbara. 1990. “Washington Behavior and Home-State Reputation: The Impact of National Prominence on Senators' Images.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 15 (4): 475–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stolle, Dietlind, and Gidengil, Elisabeth. 2010. “What do Women Really Know? A Gendered Analysis of Varieties of Political Knowledge.” Perspectives on Politics 8 (1): 93–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele L. 2013. Women in the Club: Gender and Policy Making in the Senate. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Burns, Nancy, and Schlozman, Kay Lehman. 1997. “Knowing and Caring about Politics: Gender and Political Engagement.” Journal of Politics 59 (4): 1051–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, and Brady, Henry E.. 1995. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolbrecht, Christina, and Campbell, David E.. 2007. “Leading by Example: Female Members of Parliament as Political Role Models.” Journal of Politics 51 (4): 921–39.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Jones Supplementary Material

Abstract

Download Jones Supplementary Material(File)
File 13.6 KB