Where Do Female Conservatives Stand? A Cross-National Analysis of the Issue Positions and Ideological Placement of Female Right-Wing Candidates. (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: de Geus, Roosmarijn A.; Shorrocks, Rosalind
• Is Part Of: Journal of women, politics & policy. Volume 41:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 7
• Page End: 35
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Gender -- conservative politics -- female candidates -- political parties -- ideology -- issue positions; Women -- Political activity -- Periodicals; Women's rights -- Periodicals; Women -- Government policy -- Periodicals; 323.34
• DOI: 10.1080/1554477X.2020.1688612
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1554-477X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Many right-wing parties have attempted to increase their share of female representatives to appeal to women in the electorate. Underlying this is the assumption that women will offer a distinct perspective to the party. Using a comparative dataset of male and female candidates of Conservative and Christian Democratic parties across 21 European and Anglo-Saxon countries, we show this is the case. Female candidates in right-wing parties are less right wing than male candidates, both in terms of their overall ideology and their issue positioning. Perhaps as a consequence, female candidates perceive a greater distance to their own party than male candidates.