PhD Summary: From Ambition to Admission: The Recruitment of Women in Politics.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54195/plc.25247Keywords:
Underrepresentation of women, Candidate selection, Candidate recruitment, Political ambition, Political violenceAbstract
This dissertation examines why women remain underrepresented in politics, focusing on the demand side (candidate selection within political parties) and supply side (political ambition) of the political recruitment market in the Netherlands. An analysis of formal and informal selection procedures shows that political parties emphasize skills such as party and political experience. This indirectly disadvantages women, as more men have held political jobs. A survey experiment among party members shows that women are preferred for higher list positions, but political experience remains the decisive criterion. This only reinforces existing inequalities. On the supply side, the dissertation finds no substantial gender gap in political ambition among party members. However, women are less likely to become party members. The dissertation concludes that seemingly meritocratic selection criteria reproduce gender inequality and highlights the need for broader recruitment and stronger support for women candidates.
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