 |
David Cameron resigned as prime minister after the unexpected defeat of his Remain Campaign (Photo Credit: Economist)
|
Despite initial predictions that zealous leave campaigner Boris Johnson would gain control of the Tories (Mason) and a challenge from MP Andrea Leadsom, Theresa May eventually emerged as the head of the party and assumed the premiership a few days later (BBCa). This made her the second woman in history to ever serve as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister. The significance of this advancement of a woman in the male dominated world of politics was largely drowned out by the magnitude of the challenge facing Prime Minster May and her party.
Why was Theresa May chosen by the Tories to lead her party? While there are surely many factors contributing to Mrs. May’s selection, Funk, Hinojosa, and Piscopo’s work suggests that Mrs. May’s gender contributed to her advancement. These authors studied candidate nomination by Latin American parties and found that parties nominated a greater number of women when the electorate perceived their leaders to be corrupt and lacked trust in them. Their theoretical explanation for this phenomenon is fairly straightforward. In Latin America there is a cultural stereotype that portrays women as more honest and trustworthy than men. Party selectorates may nominate women when distrust in government leaders is high because the positive stereotypes associated with women will make them more appealing to the disgruntled electorate. Party leaders may do this knowingly or unknowingly.
It is not hard to transfer this logic to the case of Theresa May’s selection as head of the Conservative Party. Just prior to her ascension, her party underwent a dramatic upheaval both through internal divisions over the Brexit debate and the embarrassing referendum defeat of its leader. Conservative selectors likely believed that the electorate’s perceptions of the party had been damaged (the disastrous results of the 2017 election indicate this could have been the case) (BBCb). They could have been more inclined to nominate a woman because they believed the electorate would have gender biases that made a female party head more likely to succeed. The fact that the other finalist for leadership of the Conservative party was also a woman lends weight to this speculation.
But what were these biases that helped Mrs. May gain control of her party? The biases identified by Funk and her coauthors seem to not entirely fit the situation surrounding Cameron’s demise and May’s rise. Voters more likely viewed the Conservative Party as being in a confused mess rather than as corrupt or untrustworthy. Therefore, we should focus on the context British female stereotypes in the setting of politics. Three of Britain’s most important monarchs were women including Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, and the current Queen Elizabeth II. Additionally, Margaret Thatcher (or the “Iron Lady” as she was called) was a powerful politician who used her forceful leadership to overhaul the British economy in the latter decades of the 20th century. It is possible then that stereotypes of women in British government portray women as more forceful, no-nonsense, and achievers. This was likely the exact image the Conservatives wanted to portray as they attempted to overcome the disastrous Brexit referendum and lead the country through the process of exiting the European Union.
 |
(Photo Credit: The Times)
|
It is perhaps impossible to know exactly to what extant Theresa May’s gender helped her in her attempt to gain control of the Conservative Party. But it is interesting to look at the events of 2016 through the lens of gender analysis. It is entirely plausible that the Conservatives were more inclined to choose her to seize on preconceived British cultural notions of women. This could have helped them project a message of control, calm, and solid leadership.
Stewart, Mason, and Syal: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/24/david-cameron-resigns-after-uk-votes-to-leave-european-union
No comments:
Post a Comment