Not My Role Model: How Gender Norms Overturn Symbolic Effects

Abstract

Do female politicians serve as political role models in settings where traditional gender roles remain entrenched? I investigate the role model effects mechanism using a visual experiment conducted within the natural experiment of gender quotas in Delhi. The visual experiment exposes citizens to a realistic treatment - photographs that signal the gender of their as-if-randomly assigned representative. Women who see a woman politician's photograph experience a negative change in political efficacy, but only higher-caste women and those without extra-household connections. Findings suggest that women politicians threaten traditional identity, evoking backlash. Consequently, randomized information about gender quotas, by reconciling women's political presence with existing norms, neutralizes this backlash. Findings suggest that gender norms hinder symbolic effects, but, paradoxically, gender quotas lower backlash. The findings raise concerns about women's rising political presence given slow-moving gender norms and citizens' lack of awareness about gender quotas.