Governing Bodies: How the Organization of Social Groups Shapes Political Ambition.

Abstract

Nascent ambition is an essential element of democracy that has implications for representation and equality yet we know surprisingly little about who is ambitious and why. I propose a unique framework for understanding nascent ambition, arguing that gender roles and gendered obstacles and opportunities affect its presence in men and women—and that they often do so differently for different social groups. I test this framework using data from the Citizen Participation Study, employing an innovative research design that identifies potential candidates for office and exploits variation across three different social groups—race, class, and religion—in their understandings of women’s roles as mothers and leaders. I then go beyond an examination of roles to analyze the importance of gendered experiences in shaping nascent ambition, focusing on recruitment, participation in single-gendered organizations, and experiencing discrimination. Finally, I look across these social groups to examine how differences between these groups on the dimensions of privilege, narrative, and mutability influence both levels of and ingredients for nascent ambition for the men and women in these groups. I find that both the levels of and the ingredients for nascent ambition vary across groups. My results largely support the roles and experiences framework I propose, revealing that gendered social roles matter more for women’s nascent ambition than men’s. I also find that variations across groups on the dimensions of privilege, narrative, and mutability affect nascent ambition, demonstrating that privilege in particular plays a key role in determining levels of ambition.