attended campaign training, there are gender gaps in ambition (Yanus, chapter 1) and an “accumulation effect” of challenges, including self-perception of campaign skills (Bernhard et al., chapter 2). Notably, Republican… Click to show full abstract
attended campaign training, there are gender gaps in ambition (Yanus, chapter 1) and an “accumulation effect” of challenges, including self-perception of campaign skills (Bernhard et al., chapter 2). Notably, Republican women have their own challenges; Och identifies three major obstacles: infrastructure, inattention, and ideology. Examining an already successful woman officeholder, Scott and coauthors (chapter 4) reveal important intersectional resources and obstacles that Stacey Abrams faced as a Black woman candidate. In part II, the editors assembled chapters discussing reasons why women run for office. The old adage that men run to be someone, but women run to do something, seems very much at play in these studies. The authors’ contributions suggest that messaging matters in encouraging women to run, and also that experiences and reasons for running do not operate the same way even among women. In answering the question of why women run, Thomas and Wineinger (chapter 5) argue that women run to make policy change, whereas Deen and Shelton (chapter 6) show a multiplier effect of civic engagement and volunteerism leading to political engagement. The notion of civic capital is brought out again with Mo and Anderson-Nilsson’s chapter 7, together with the notion that women of color are especially activated by civic experiences. It appears, broadly speaking, that women are shaped by a variety of experiences and are motivated by policy change and civic capital. Turning to the flip side of motivations, part III asks the question, Why not run? The editors point out the key to understanding this question, stating that “what makes the office unappealing, in itself, may be gendered” (p. 125). Even rational cost-benefit analyses may reveal that women and men weigh those costs and benefits differently. Contextual and systematic challenges—including political geography and to what degree districts are women-friendly (Ondercin, chapter 8), the gatekeeping roles of political party chairs (Gimenez Aldridge et al., chapter 9), and the unwillingness of the established two parties to situate and recruit Black women (Brown and Dowe, chapter 10)—all affect women’s decisions not to run. Bonneau and Kathak (chapter 11) also present evidence of a chilling effect on women’s political ambition of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss. These authors argue, as have other gender scholars, that leaning in is insufficient in a context of systematic challenges. Part IV, discussing the role of nonprofits, notes both institutional and individual effects. Institutionally, the chapters point to the proliferation of training programs, while noting that policy and partisan barriers exist (Kreitzer and Osborn, chapter 12) and that, in the comparative context, varied funding sources for programs may lead to varied goals, either as supportive structures or for agenda setting (Piscopo, chapter 15). At the program level, evaluation surveys reveal that supportive features, such as networking receptions, may have a stronger effect for women of color (Sanbonmatsu and Dittmar, chapter 13), but that even a one-day training might help women see themselves as candidates (Schneider and Sweet-Cushman, chapter 14). Nonprofits seemingly provide bothmotivating opportunities and necessary resources. Given the central role of financial resources, particularly in American candidate-centered campaigns, those associated challenges are given special consideration in part V. The authors in this section reveal an interactive effect between gender and party in campaign donations (Swers and Thomsen, chapter 16), that training programs in Benin help women gain access to necessary fundraising networks (Johnson, chapter 17), and that women candidates donate to other women, but that this effect is much stronger among Democrats and in open races (Kettler, chapter 18). It is evident that financial challenges still abound in women’s campaigns, but that a key to women’s success is the support of other women. The volume offers a vast amount of new knowledge, in five key areas, for advancing the literature on women’s political ambition, and it points to specific implications for advocates to implement. This book is commendable for several reasons, in addition to the high-quality chapters, not least of which is that the editors’ expert interweaving of chapters and their section introductions make Good Reasons to Run an excellent contemporary handbook on women’s political ambition.
               
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