Competence and Electability: Exploring the Limitations on Female Candidates in Qatar

Abstract

Attitudes about women’s expertise can play a role in limiting their access to influential public spaces, including elected government positions. In the Arab Gulf, women remain underrepresented in electoral politics. This research seeks to answer two important questions. Does this underrepresentation stem from the belief that women will govern incompetently? Or are they viewed as less electable? A field experiment is used to investigate the attitudes of young adults in Qatar. It finds bias against the women candidate exists for both competence and electability among some subsamples of students, including female, liberal, and advanced students.