Glass Ceilings, Glass Cliffs, and Quicksands : Gendered Party Leadership in Parliamentary Systems

This Element asks how gender conditions the candidacy, selection, and survival of party leaders. It complements existing research on glass ceilings and glass cliffs that certain conditions should make it more likely that women run as leadership candidates. The Element also offers unique insights into women's experience with party leadership.

Using novel data from eleven parliamentary democracies between 1980 and 2020, this Element asks how gender conditions the candidacy, selection, and survival of party leaders. It examines the party leadership careers of 276 leaders and focuses on three categories of variables to explain women''s experiences as party leaders: performance indicators, (s)election details, and political culture. It complements existing research on glass ceilings and glass cliffs that certain conditions should make it more likely that women run as leadership candidates and are selected as party leaders. The Element also offers an original argument that, for women, leadership is akin to being caught in quicksand. Several factors agitate the quicksand and make them sink faster. The authors show support for the glass ceiling theory and their quicksand theory. Yet, they only found mixed support for the glass-cliff theory. The Element offers unique insights into women''s experience with party leadership.