A City's First Female Officeholder: "Coattails" for Future Female Officeseekers?
| Author | Susan A. Macmanus |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591298103400108 |
| Published date | 01 March 1981 |
| Date | 01 March 1981 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
A
CITY’S
FIRST
FEMALE
OFFICEHOLDER:
"COATTAILS"
FOR
FUTURE
FEMALE
OFFICESEEKERS?
SUSAN
A.
MACMANUS
University
of
Houston
NOTE:
The
author
is
very
grateful
for
the
limited
grant-in-aid
provided
by
the
University
of
Houston
Office
of
Research
Development.
The
author
would
like
to
thank
Richard
Mur-
ray
for
helping
design
the
survey
instrument
and
Carol
Cassel
for
providing
useful
com-
ments.
UCH
OF
THE
literature
on
women
in
politics
has
focused
on
at-
titudinal
barriers
to
either
their
candidacy
or
their
election.
The
-~-
1
general
conclusion
has
been
that
traditional
public
attitudes
toward
the
&dquo;proper
role
of
women&dquo;
have
to
be
changed
before
women
candidates
can
succeed
in
winning
elections.
Much
has
been
written
about
how
much
public
opinion
must
change
to
allow
that
initial
election.
Yet
little
research
has
attempted
to
measure
the
effects
of
that
first
female
victory
in
changing
public
opinion
about
women
in
office.
This
study
seeks
to
determine
whether
a
newly
elected
female
can
help
dissolve
negative
stereotypes
about
women
holding
public
office
and
to
what
extent
her
performance
can
change
public
opinion
about
women
office
seekers
in
general.
In
a
recent
study
entitled
&dquo;Preference
for
Men
as
Bosses
and
Profes-
sionals,&dquo;
Ferber,
Huber,
and
Spitze
found
that,
regardless
of
gender,
per-
sons
&dquo;generalize
their
exposure
to
competent
[incompetent]
females
more
than
their
exposure
to
competent
[incompetent]
males.&dquo;2
Their
findings
reaffirmed
those
of
Ehrlich3
and
Kanter’
which
showed
that
the
tendency
in
the
corporate
world
to
&dquo;generalize
attributes
of
tokens
to
an
entire
collectiv-
ity.&dquo;5
In
politics,
this
tendency
to
generalize,
if
it
applies,
may
work
to
the
benefit
of
future
women
candidates
if
the
first
female
elected
is
perceived
by
the
public
to
have
performed
well
in
office.
Clearly
Ferber et
al.’s
finding
that
&dquo;exposure
to
women
in
atypically
feminine
occupations
tends
to
break
down
stereotypical
images&dquo;6
can
be
tested
in
the
political
world
where
hold-
ing
public
office
has
traditionally
been
viewed
as
a
male
occupation.
’See
Jeane
Kirkpatrick,
Political
Women
(New
York:
Basic
Books,
1974);
Jane
Jacquette,
ed.,
Women
in
Politics
(New
York:
Wiley,
1974);
Susan
Tolchin
and
Martin
Tolchin,
Clout:
Women,
Power,
and
Politics
(New
York:
Coward,
McCann,
and
Geohegan,
1974);
Albert
K.
Karnig
and
B.
Oliver
Walter,
"Election
of
Women
to
City
Councils,"
Social
Science
Quarterly
56
(March
1976):
605-13;
Marcia
M.
Lee,
"Toward
Understanding
Why
Few
Women
Hold
Public
Office:
Factors
Affecting
the
Participation
of
Women
in
Local
Politics,"
in
Marianne
Githens
and
Jewel
L.
Prestage,
eds.,
A
Portrait
of
Marginality
(New
York:
McKay,
1977),
pp.
118-38;
Sharyne
Merritt,
"Winners
and
Losers:
Sex
Differences
in
Municipal
Elections,"
American
Journal
of
Political
Science
21
(November
1977):
731-44;
Susan
Welch,
"Women
as
Political
Animals?
A
Test
of
Some
Explanations
for
Male-Female
Participation
Differences,"
American
Journal
of
Political
Science
21
(November
1977):
711-30;
Susan
Welch,
"Recruitment
of
Women
to
Public
Office:
A
Discriminant
Analysis,"
Western
Politi-
cal
Quarterly
31
(September
1978):
372-80;
and
Ronald
D.
Hedlund,
Patricia
K.
Freeman,
Keith
E.
Hamm,
and
Robert
M.
Stein,
"The
Electability
of
Women
Candidates:
The
Effects
of
Sex-Role
Stereotypes,"
Journal
of
Politics
41
(May
1979):
513-24.
2
Marianne
Ferber,
Joan
Huber,
and
Glenna
Spitze,
"Preference
for
Men
as
Bósses
and
Profes-
sionals,"
Social
Forces
58
(December
1979):
466-76.
3 Howard
Ehrlich,
The
Social
Psychology
of
Prejudice
(New
York:
Wiley,
1973).
4
Rosabeth
Moss
Kanter,
Men
and
Women
of
the
Corporation
(New
York:
Basic
Books,
1977).
5 Feber
et
al.,
"Preference
for
Men
as
Bosses
and
Professionals,"
p.
468.
6
Ibid.
p.
473.
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