The Presidenta Effect: Perceptions of Women in Politics in Post-impeachment Brazil
P5-03
Presented by: Malu Gatto
Not long ago, scholars frequently pointed to the elections of female presidents in Latin America as a sign that traditional biases against women in politics were eroding in the region. In the period since, various events have suggested that the demonstration effects of these presidents may have not been entirely positive. If true, Latin America’s first presidentas may have had the opposite effect on symbolic representation to the one anticipated. Yet this remains unknown. Rousseff’s impeachment in August 2016 provides an ideal scenario with which to explore this. Employing an original national survey experiment (N=1,498), we find that recollecting Rousseff’s presidency and impeachment reduces women voters’ positive implicit evaluations of women politicians—but seems to confirm the tendency of men voters who implicitly view women as unequipped to occupy political office.