Blending in or standing out? Gendered political communication in 24 democracies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6229869 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bruno Castanho Silva (0000-0001-9363-4704, Institute of Sociology and Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany, corresponding author), Danielle Pullan (0000-0002-4020-7407, University of Cologne and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies Cologne Germany), Jens Wäckerle (0000-0002-5108-7711, Cologne Center for Comparative Politics University of Cologne Cologne Germany) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 653-668 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ajps.12876 |
| OpenAlex | W4399466948 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 70 |
Women in male‐dominated organizations often must adopt more stereotypical masculine traits to advance within those hierarchies. While politics, historically male‐dominated, should induce women to blend in, increasing numbers of women in parliaments may give women the opportunity to stand out by not adopting a masculine style. This paper investigates how these contradictory incentives influence female Members of Parliament (MPs) in 24 democracies between 1987 and 2022, applying machine learning to 6.8 million parliamentary speeches to measure how feminine is their speaking style. Findings indicate a socialization effect, whereby women adopt a more masculine style the longer they stay in office, even after controlling for their speeches’ topics. The effect is strongest for women in socially progressive parties. This research highlights the role of parliaments as gendered workplaces, which still lead women to adapt to the male norm, and helps us understand the incentives that shape how women represent women in parliament
Economics · Incentive · Norm (philosophy · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Socialization · Sociology · Style (visual arts · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |