Is Politics Still a Masculine Thing? Stereotypical Male Description Activates the Prototype of the Politically Committed Individual Worthy of a Vote

In the last few centuries, women in Western countries have achieved revolutionary advancements in terms of civil and social rights. Nevertheless, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions, and this major issue needs to be tackled. In the present research, comprising two studies, we aimed to test the role of gender stereotype salience in affecting the extent to which individuals view women and men as being close to the ‘politically involved individual’ prototype and its influence on the intention to vote for women and men. In both studies, we found that the increased perceived likelihood of a target to participate in politics when described as a real man (Study 1) or as stereotypically masculine (irrespective of his/her sex, Study 2), in respect to the other conditions, mediated participants’ willingness to vote for them in case of candidacy.