Research
Recently Published Work
In Women's Studies International Forum
Osorio Michel, Daniela. How Gender Shapes the Experience of Running for Office: A Comparative Study of Women and Men Candidates from Bolivia's Local and National Elections (2020−2021)
Abstract Are the experiences of running for political office affected by the candidate’s gender? In order to address why there might be gender imbalances in the election of political representatives, it is imperative to study the process by which they are selected and elected. Latin America is an important region to study. Women’s representation increased significantly due to quota laws in the past decades. However, women are still far from reaching parity, particularly at the local and executive levels. The literature in the region has been focused on the electoral designs and the gendered campaign differences received scarce attention. Drawing from Bolivian elections’ data, this article offers evidence of a gender effect on how women and man candidates approach and experience the electoral process. The country is an important study case because, despite achieving gender parity at the national level, in 2021, women only represented 8% of mayors. The article theorizes that gender defines the obstacles and opportunities women and men face while running for office. Unlike men, women are aware of their particular challenges and develop a distinctive repertoire to counter them. Using interviews from 36 women and men candidates for local and national elections (2020-2021), the article shows how women (differently than men) walk a thin line between negative and positive consequences for being of a particular gender. Women candidates identify that they face an advantage for being perceived (as women) as more transparent, better at redistributing the goods, and administrating the economy. Nevertheless, contrary to men, their leadership is constantly questioned and they pay for the mistakes of other visible political women. Similar to previous research, parties are identified as the gatekeepers for women’s candidacies, and they are (more than men) pressured by possible challengers. However, women who decide to run for office actively look for supporting parties or other alternatives. When they do not receive the candidacy from their own party, women use other political brands or citizen groups to run for a seat.
Osorio Michel, Daniela, & Ackerly, Brooke. Decolonizing decoloniality: A feminist Reassessment of the Coloniality of Power in the Aymaran Cosmology
In Millennium: Journal of International Studies
Abstract In this paper we demonstrate the import of feminist reflexivity for the decolonial project. The decolonial project reveals the form and extent to which contemporary ideas and power structures are imbued with generations of power structures whose foundations were laid during colonialism. Feminist reflexivity reminds us to revisit the constructions of power within dominant power structures. In this paper we revisit the coloniality of power within an indigenous cosmology – the Aymaran Cosmology of the second largest indigenous population in Bolivia. This is an important site for feminists to revisit the relationship of decoloniality and feminism because over a decade ago, Maria Lugones charted a course for decolonial feminism that drew on an Aymaran approach to decolonizing gender. By revisiting the coloniality imbedded in the construction of Aymaran, we reveal that it is feminism’s persistent reflexivity even more than its attention to gender specifically that makes it an important part of decolonial theory.
In Colombia Internacional. doi:
Abstract Citizen support for democracy is in question. All over the world, more and more citizens are dissatisfied with the democratic system of government; many of them even willing to question its worth as the best possible system of government. In the case of Latin America, after having increased at the beginning of the century, the indicators of support for democracy have shown marked declines throughout the last decade. This is particularly evident in the Andean countries, where recent setbacks in the legitimacy of democratic institutions have been accompanied by problematic electoral processes that were deeply questioned by their citizens. Using recent data from two of the main sources of comparative public opinion available for Latin America, the AmericasBarometer and the World Values Survey, this work focuses on indicators of citizen support for democracy in 4 countries of the Andean region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), investigating the effect that government approval has on democracy’s evaluation. The paper uses a methodological design that recognizes different levels of support for democracy, discussing the hypothesis that the effects should be different between the levels analyzed. The results show that the more concrete levels of support for democracy are influenced more strongly by the individuals’ political position, while the values that sustain democracy are not affected at a statistical significant level.
In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1757
Abstract Political culture in Latin America leans democratic and participatory. Even amid institutional backsliding in the early 21st century, most leaders assume office and claim their mandate via elections. However, in the face of significant governance challenges, reservations regarding democracy and democratic processes are on the rise. In 2014, 68% of individuals in the average Latin American country expressed support for democracy. Five years later, in 2019, that figure was 58%. Support for state-led redistribution declined during this period as well. In brief, there are signs that the public is moving away from a social democratic orientation. Generalizations about political culture risk overlooking significant heterogeneity in Latin American beliefs and inclinations. Survey data, especially from comparative projects, permit assessments of the region’s political culture across time, countries, and population subgroups. Analyses of these data paint an appropriately nuanced portrait of Latin American political culture. Support for core democratic values is highest in the Southern Cone countries of Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. Support for democratic institutions and processes is far lower in countries that have experienced recent instability and governance challenges, including Honduras and Peru. In Latin America, the young tend to be less committed to democratic institutions and processes. Those in rural areas tend to be more inclined to engage in local politics. Those who are poor tend to perceive themselves as less capable of understanding key national issues. Finally, women tend to be politically more conservative. How people in the region believe politics ought to be organized and function—that is, political culture in Latin America—matters. This is because the public’s inclinations to express core democratic values and to engage in the system shape political outcomes. Where individuals lack confidence in the democratic state, they are less prone to support it. Further, they are more likely to issue demands, and to look for leadership, outside of formal political channels. The comparatively low and decreasing levels of support for democracy place Latin America at a crossroads. Failure to meet key governance challenges—corruption, inequality, crime—could accelerate declines in confidence and interest in participatory democracy, to the detriment of political culture and democratic consolidation in Latin America.
Research Under Review
Abstract Gender role congruity theory states that, because men dominate politics, politics is associated with masculine traits, and that congruity gives an electoral advantage to men (vs. women) who run for office. While gender role congruity theoryhas been extensively studied in the U.S. context, its applicability to other regions of the world has been given scant consideration. To study how bias against women candidates manifests in a distinct set of contexts, I assess the theory in four Latin-American countries. The results support the first premise of role congruity theory: there is congruity between the stereotypical profile of political leadership and politicians who are men, and an incongruity between leadership and women candidates. However, contrary to the second premise: this incongruity benefits women politicians. Latin American publics assess women as better political leaders than men. I posit that one factor that might explain this scenario is the presence of women in the public space. I find evidence that high evaluations of women candidates stem from an idealization of women in politics. Actually experiencing the leadership of a women President and identifying a real women politician negatively affects how individuals evaluate abstract women candidates.
Work in Progress
Between Political Women's Visibility and Benevolent Sexism: Understanding Bias Against Women in Politics in Latin America
Abstract What is the nature of bias against women politicians in Latin America? Research focusing primarily on the U.S. context demonstrates that women candidates face demand-side barriers due to biases in the electorate. However, despite being considered one of the most conservative and machista regions globally, in Latin America, six countries have elected women presidents and most of them passed legislation to secure the presence of women at the legislative level. This is not to say that bias against women politicians does not exist in Latin America. In fact, overall, Latin American women are still underrepresented in politics. What it does suggest is that the nature of the bias may take distinct forms in the region. The paper's main objective is to explore the effects of three variables that affect how individuals evaluate women that differentiate Latin America from the literature's main study case: Visibility of female political leaders, perceptions of corruption, and trust in political institutions. Using data from 17 countries from the AmericasBarometer, the paper presents a complex scenario for women politicians in Latin America. On the one hand, it finds that individuals who have low levels of trust in political institutions and high levels of perceived corruption report less negative biases against women in politics. This is very much relevant in a region marked by democratic erosion and corruption. On the other hand, and contrary to some literature's expectations, the paper shows that experiencing a real woman in power does not increase the preference for women over men politicians. Actually, it decreases the perception of women's efficacy and transparency. Individuals living in municipalities with a woman mayor show more negative gender bias against women in politics, while individuals in countries with past women presidents show hesitation on women's skills for leadership. This paper contributes to our understanding of gender bias in Latin America and expands our knowledge regarding symbolic representation and benevolent sexism.
The role of gendered expectations on the electability of women candidates
Abstract Do varying levels of gendered expectation affect the degree of punishment women candidates face for wrongdoing? In my research, I find that despite considering political leadership as masculine, individuals in Latin America –somewhat counterintuitively– evaluate women politicians as better political leaders than men. Abstract women candidates are evaluated more favorably than abstract men candidates, while men’s evaluation levels are, on average, equal to the expected levels for political leadership. In this paper, I explore the hypothesis that this disconnect has a negative effect on women’s electability. I argue that it is the high expectations that drives voters to hold women candidates to a higher standard and penalized them more for malfeasance. According to the accountability literature, when expectations about the leader’s performance are high and not met, voters are more likely to sanction the leader (Frisell 2009; Gottlieb 2016). Yet, if voters already believe that incumbent is malfeasant, even being exposed to cases of wrongdoing do not decrease support (Arias et al. 2018). In this paper, I use data from an original survey experiment run in several countries in Latin America (currently on the field). So far, results from Bolivia suggest that individuals with higher expectations on women candidates tend to dislike more and have lower probabilities of voting for women candidates who were involved in corruption and showed poor economic results.
Beyond gender parity and laws, violence against women in politics as a persisten problem: A Comparative Study of Women and Men Candidates from Bolivia’s Local and National Elections (2020-2021)
Abstract Do women candidates experience more or less political violence in the presence and absence of gender quotas?Drawing from 36 interviews with women and men candidates for national (with quotas) and local (without quotas) before the elections and two focus groups post-elections, this paper offers evidence of gender’s prevalence in defining how women and men candidates approach and experience elections differently. In particular, and despite Bolivia’s law against gender-political violence, women are still experiencing violence in all stages of the electoral process. Parties still retain a gate-keeping role over women’s candidacies. Women identify their co-partisans and the party structures as the main perpetrators of violence. They constantly feel that their candidacy is threatened and are harassed by their party challengers. Regarding the campaign process, quota laws do not reduce voters’ gender bias and symbolic violence. Women still walk a thin line between the negative and positive consequences of their gender. On the one hand, because they are women, candidates are perceived as transparent and capable of redistributing goods and administrating the economy. On the other, contrary to men, women’s leadership is constantly questioned; they even face backlash that stems from other women’s wrongdoings. This is more prevalent among women of indigenous backgrounds. The paper gives particular attention to how stereotypes and prejudice about indigenous women are weaponized to prevent them from becoming candidates or being elected.
Determinants of Public Opinion on Cash Transfers in Latin America.
With Merike Blofield and Juliana Martinez Franzoni
Abstract Non-contributory cash transfers aimed at families with children are one of the major social policy innovations of the last quarter century in Latin America. They remain a crucial policy tool in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with almost half of the children in the region living in poverty. Yet, we have no systematic survey data on people's attitudes toward them. Our paper presents the results of nationally representative phone surveys we conducted in seven Latin American countries in 2022, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). We find that in most countries, public opinion supports broader and more adequate transfers than existing policy, especially for children. Drawing on existing literature on attitudes toward social policies more broadly, in both the advanced industrialized world and developing countries, we test theories related to socio-demographic and ideological predictors. We hypothesize that an overlooked factor is the potential effect of family/household composition, and test for this. Our preliminary analysis indicates that socio-demographic factors as well as family composition influence attitudes; younger people, less educated people, and parents who live with their children are most supportive of broad and adequate transfers for children.
Publications
2019. “Gender and Political Representation in Bolivia.” In Pulse of Democracy. Zechmeister, Elizabeth J., and Noam Lupu (Eds.). LAPOP. Nashville, TN.
2018. Youth’s Social Values in Bolivia. With Daniel Moreno Morales (Coord) et.al. Ciudadanía, Comunidad de Estudios Sociales y Acción Pública, Oxfam and Centro de Investigaciones Sociales de la Vicepresidencia (CIS). Bolivia
2017. “Between authoritarianism and inestability. Middle class in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela.” With Daniel Moreno Morales. In Las nuevas clases medias latinoamericanas: ascenso e incertidumbre. Ludolfo Paramio y Cecilia Güemes (Coords). Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales – CEPC. Madrid, España
2016. Final report: National survey on perceptions about the situation of violence against women and trafficking in Bolivia. With Vivian Schwarz (Coord) and Olivia Román. Alianza Libres Sin Violencia. Cochabamba - Bolivia
2015. “Factors influencing symbolical violence against women in Cochabamba. In Cochabamba: igualdad, identidad y ciudadanía. Cochabamba - Bolivia
2014. Political Culture of Democracy in Bolivia. Towards a democracy of citizens. With Daniel Moreno Morales (Coord) et.al. LAPOP and Ciudadanía, Comunidad de Estudios Sociales y Acción Pública. Cochabamba - Bolivia
2014. La unión es la fuerza: Nación, diversidad e identidad en el marco del Estado plurinacional (La unión es la fuerza: Nation, diversity and identity within the Plurinational State). With Daniel Moreno Morales and Gonzalo Vargas. Programa de Investigación Estratégica en Bolivia. La Paz – Bolivia