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03 - Effects of Gender and Social Status On How Filipinos Perceive Political Candidates
03 - Effects of Gender and Social Status On How Filipinos Perceive Political Candidates
elected female senators since 1946 has only been 4 out of a total
24 senators in 1992, and 3 out of 12 senators in 1995. Based on
the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) data, the average
participation rate of women in the House of Representative and
local government is roughly 10%. Why is there such an imbalance
of power? Explanations for this sparse representation of women
in leadership roles traditionally focused on the idea that there is
a lack of qualified women or that women display fewer traits and
I
In politics, the D and E classes, the masses and the very poor
respectively, were the ones responsible 'for Joseph Estrada's victory
in the 1998 presidential election (Marwahas, 1998). It was social
class, rather than region, or religion, or gender, or age that was
critical to that election, because Estrada lost among the ABC
votes-the votes of the rich, the well tb do, and the middle class
(Mangahas, 1998). In the 2004 presidential election, the SWS
survey showed that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had a commanding
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lead in classes ABC versus Fernando Ppe Jr. (FPJ) but FPJ failed
to pull away in classes D and E [Olivares-Cunanan, 2004).
consistently political views, was for the masses, did not lie or
cheat, and was not sexist. Sy (2001) studied political candidate
evaluation in the Philippines. She found that urban poor voters
use several candidate-related variables such as background,
sociopolitical status, promises, popularity, and behavior in
evaluating political candidates. Voters also consider whether the
candidates are godly (maka Diyos) , relates well with people (maka-
tao), is capable (may kakayahan), has principle (may paninindigan) ,
for the country (maka-bayan), keeps one's word (may isang salita),
for the poor (maka-mahirap), approachable (madaling lapitan), and
does not hide true self (di pakitang tao).
Identity Politics
Would female voters tend to view female politicians more
positively? In other. words, would an interaction exist between
gender of voter and gender of politician? Previous studies suggest
that an interaction does exist (Lewis & Bierly, 1990; Plutzer
& Zipp, 1996). Female university students followed a profemale
sentiment in evaluating female politicians' competence (Lewis
& Bierly, 1990). Plutzer and Zipp (1996) found evidence that sex
of the voter is significantly related to voting for female candidates
in 8 of the 13 states they studied. They suggested that gender
identity exists, that is, female voters identified with female
candidates, especially if they espoused feminist values.
9
I
Identity politics refers to the formation of political allegiances
on the basis of some demographic similarity, such as sex, race,
and religion (Plutzer & Zipp, 1996). An example would be in 1960
in the US when John F. Kennedy, a Catholic, won the support of
approximately 80% of Catholic voters but he lost enough of the
much larger Protestant vote to produce a net loss nearly coating
him the presidency.
METHOD
Participants
MEASURES
Table 1. Traits in the Final Shah Scale With Their Corresponding Mean Likeability Scores
--+----
Negative traits Score Positive traits Score
+---~_._--
RESULTS
Source df F p
Respondent's Gender
Gender of Politician
Contrary to expectations, there was no significant difference
in the overall perceived traits of male and female politicians
(p = .29) although the mean scores revealed that female
politicians were perceived slightly more positively (M = 7.26)
compared to male politicians (M = 6.55). The chi square analyses
revealed that certain traits are associated more with female
than male politicians. For example, female politicians are
perceived as more attractive (p = .04), emotional (p = .00),
intelligent (p = .00), and religious (p = .02) but male politicians
are perceived as more corrupt (p = .05).
Interaction Effects
Based on the three-way ANOVA of overall perceived traits,
only two interaction effects were found to be statistically
significant-a two-way interaction (the gender of the politician X
the gender of the respondent) and a three-way interaction (gender
of politician X SES of respondent X gender or respondent).
Figure 1. Male and female respondents' perceived traits of male and female politicians.
10 .,-~--------------------------,
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.
iii
c
!.
7
~
to-
5
'i 4
~
CD
I!
:. 3
O-l------------~----------_i
Male Female
RIlspondent
Summary of Results
Figure 2. Female respondents from ABC, D, and E social classes and their perceived traits
of male and female politicians.
12.,-----~-1
11
F2male politiciau
10
,
;;; 9
.e
!.
II
~
...
~
8
7
-------...._-- ---.....,
~
et 6
I---------------~---~- - -... -.
E o ABC
Female Respondents
Figure 3. Male respondents from ABC, D, and E social classes and their percelved traits of
male and female politicians.
9 -,----------------------------------. + --
8
Male pali tici
7
r!male politician
-l----------~---------,_----- ----t---
E o ABC
Male Respondents
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DISCUSSION
This study has shown that males and females differ in their
perceptions of the traits of political candidates. The females in
the present study consistently showed a more favorable perception
of politicians. This finding coincides with a study in the United
20
Gender of Politician
Implications
REFERENCES
Nye, J., & Brown, A. (1996). What's social about social c~gnition?:
Research on socially shared cognition in small groups. Thousand
Oaks: Sage Publications.
Olivares-Cunanan, B. (2004, May 3). Macapagal hold on E class
spells difference. Retrieved July 25, 2005 from http: / /
www.inq7.net/opi/2004/may/03/tex.t/opLbocunanan-~-p.htm.