Gender and Local Political Ambition

The Element advances understanding of women's representation by focusing on local office, where women might be expected to express greater interest and face fewer disadvantages. Using an original survey of civically and politically engaged people, the authors find that the ambition gender gap extends to local office, including elected and appointed positions. Ambitious women are also more likely to seek only local office. Men express high ambition in nearly every circumstance, but women do so only under ideal conditions. Women's engagement in their communities and in politics is driven by communal rather than agentic goals, which affects the types and levels of office they seek. Women's lower levels of perceived qualification and recruitment help explain the ambition gender gap at the local level. A more equitable political opportunity structure and an understanding of politics as an arena for problem-solving, rather than power-seeking, could help address women's underrepresentation.