It takes a candidate : why women don't run for office / Jennifer L. Lawless, Richard L. Fox.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-193) and index.

1. Electoral politics : still a man's world? -- Representation, equality, and the study of gender in electoral politics -- Traditional gender socialization in the context of U.S. politics : the central argument and its implications -- Traditional family role orientations -- Masculinized ethos -- Gendered psyche -- Organization of the book -- 2. Explaining women's emergence in the political arena -- Women and elective politics : the numbers -- Existing explanations for women's underrepresentation -- Societal rejection and cultural evolution : the discrimination explanation -- Institutional inertia : the incumbency explanation -- The candidate eligibility pool : the pipeline explanation -- The missing piece : developing a theory of gender and political ambition -- The citizen political ambition study -- 3. The gender gap in political ambition -- Very much the same : gender, political participation, and political interest -- Very much different : gender and political ambition -- Stage one : considering a candidacy -- Stage two : deciding to enter the first race -- The "winnowing effect" -- The gender gap in elective office preferences -- Conclusion -- 4. Barefoot, pregnant, and holding a law degree : family dynamics and running for office -- Raised to be a candidate? -- Eligible candidates' family structure and roles -- Wife, mother, and candidate? : family roles as impediments to political ambition -- Are times changing? : generational differences in political ambition -- Conclusion -- 5. Gender, party, and political recruitment -- Eligible candidates' political attitudes and partisanship -- Who gets asked to run for office? -- Political recruitment and considering a candidacy -- Conclusion -- 6. "I'm just not qualified" : gendered self-perceptions of candidate viability -- The impact of self-perceived qualifications on political ambition -- Explanations for the gender gap in self-perceived qualifications -- The sexist environment -- Gender differences in defining political qualifications -- Different yardsticks for gauging political qualifications -- Conclusion -- 7. Taking the plunge : deciding to run for office -- Why would anyone run for office? : negative perceptions of the electoral environment and campaign process -- Gender and the decision to enter a race -- A side note on political culture and "structural" factors -- Prospective interest in running for office -- Conclusion -- 8. Gender and the future of electoral politics -- Summarizing the findings and forecasting women's representation -- Recasting the study of gender and elections -- Appendix A. The citizen political ambition study sample design and data collection -- Appendix B. The survey -- Appendix C. The interview questionnaire -- Appendix D. Variable coding.