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Gender, Issue Stereotypes, and the Electoral Returns to Distributive Politics in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2024

Brian T. Hamel Open the ORCID record for Brian T. Hamel [Opens in a new window]  and
Nichole M. Bauer Open the ORCID record for Nichole M. Bauer [Opens in a new window]
Brian T. Hamel*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA
Nichole M. Bauer
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
*
Corresponding author: Brian T. Hamel; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Elected officials can often successfully increase voter support in their district by “bringing home the bacon,” yet theory suggests that the electoral effects of such efforts may depend on the legislator’s gender and whether the legislator delivered benefits in a stereotypically feminine (e.g., healthcare) or masculine (e.g., agriculture) issue area. Using both observational and experimental data in the United States, we find weak, limited evidence that issue area conditions the electoral impact of credit claiming for legislators of either gender. In addition, we show that men and women are rewarded comparably when they secure benefits for their district, regardless of issue area. Our findings suggest that women legislators — typically more effective than men at securing these benefits — can use distributive politics and credit claiming as an effective electoral strategy without concern that issue-based gender biases in the electorate will get in the way.

Keywords

gender stereotypesCongressdistributive politicsearmarkselections
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , December 2024 , pp. 858 - 878
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

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