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Agnes Blome, Anouk Lloren, Jan Rosset
Gendered stereotypes about politicians are widespread in the electorate. This article analyses whether such stereotypes impact electoral results in a proportional representation open list system where candidates do not only compete against candidates from other parties but also compete against other members of their party. Borrowing from the literature on ‘gender issue ownership’, we evaluate whether female candidates who favour abortion, and thus conform to the prescriptive gendered stereotype regarding women’s policy stances, have an electoral advantage. Using Swiss survey data, we compare the national election of 2007, where the issue of abortion was not salient, with the national election of 2011, where the issue was politicized. Results indicate that, in the context of a public debate on abortion, candidates’ position on gendered issues matter for women’s election prospects, but not for men. Women who hold more liberal preferences on abortion are electorally more successful than liberal-minded men and women who have a more conservative stance on abortion. Our findings indicate that prescriptive stereotypes matter in contexts where intra-party competition is likely and gender equality issues are salient.
