The Effects of Candidate Gender on Voting for Local Office in England

Abstract

There has been considerable controversy over the reasons why women hold less than 20 per cent of all local council offices in England. Using a simple model of the votes a candidate might be expected to receive, this Note uses data from the 1985 English non-metropolitan county council elections to shed light on the paucity of women in local elected office. Our analysis evaluates the following alternative explanations for the low proportions of women in local office:1. Relatively few women are selected by parties to run for local office;2. Parties tend to nominate their women candidates for unwinnable races;3. Voters disproportionately vote against women candidates.