Ever since Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee for president, commentators have been speculating as to how much being a woman will hurt her chances for election. The data suggest it won’t.\u00a0In fact, if anything, what we know about American voting patterns suggests that being a woman is a slight advantage over being a man.<\/p>\n
It’s not that there’s no sexism at all.\u00a0Parents are more likely to encourage their sons<\/a> to aspire to political office than their daughters. Women are more likely to be overburdened<\/a> by childcare and housework when they’re married to men. Women are less likely than men to be tapped<\/a> by powerful political party gatekeepers. And the media continues to produce biased news coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n But when women actually get on the ballot they are as likely to win an election as men<\/a>.\u00a0In fact, men in the United States seem rather indifferent<\/a> towards a candidate\u2019s sex, whereas women tend to prefer females<\/a>.<\/p>\n