Public opinion towards female political leadership in the EU: An empirical study of trust in female and male political representatives in 28 European states

Despite the fact that women’s representation in national parliaments and executives is increasing, female political representatives still constitute a minority, especially in high-level positions. The literature argues that gender stereotypes influence the perception of female political representatives who consequently face a disadvantage in politics. This thesis explores the factors that affect public opinion on female leadership in the European Union (EU). Using the Eurobarometer data on public opinion covering the 28 EU member states, I conduct a multiple linear regression analysis to investigate the effect of four individual level-factors (i.e., gender, age, education and profession), and three country-level factors (i.e., masculine culture, religion and communist legacy) on net female trust. The results suggest that female gender, education and masculine culture positively affect trust in female political representatives, while communist legacy produces a negative effect....Show moreDespite the fact that women’s representation in national parliaments and executives is increasing, female political representatives still constitute a minority, especially in high-level positions. The literature argues that gender stereotypes influence the perception of female political representatives who consequently face a disadvantage in politics. This thesis explores the factors that affect public opinion on female leadership in the European Union (EU). Using the Eurobarometer data on public opinion covering the 28 EU member states, I conduct a multiple linear regression analysis to investigate the effect of four individual level-factors (i.e., gender, age, education and profession), and three country-level factors (i.e., masculine culture, religion and communist legacy) on net female trust. The results suggest that female gender, education and masculine culture positively affect trust in female political representatives, while communist legacy produces a negative effect. Moreover, I discover that the EU public opinion favors female over male political representatives. Finally, by comparing the level of trust in female and male political representatives, I find that the great majority of respondents have egalitarian attitudes as they equally trust male and female leaders. These findings challenge the burgeoning literature on female leadership and have important implications for the study of public opinion, gender and political leadership in the EU.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Public opinion towards female political leadership in the EU: An empirical study of trust in female and male political representatives in 28 European states