Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed January 12, 2010). PDF text: vii, 219 p. ; 555 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3360494. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xxi, 326 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-326).

Thesis (doctoral)--Philipps-Universität Marburg, 2003. / "Kurzbiografien: Frauen in den Landtagen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1946 bis 1960"--P. 302-340. Includes bibliographical references (p. 282-296).

Given their potential to negatively impact men's goal of staying in office, can gender quotas be aligned with the preferences of male legislators who adopt the policy? In other words, does the rapid spread of gender quotas worldwide challenge notions of the rationality of legislators as career-driven individuals? These are the main questions that drive this thesis. To answer these questions, I develop a prospect theory-based framework that accounts for how electoral security and political ambition impact legislators' behaviour in influencing the strength of gender quota designs. I argue that, faced with growing pressures to adopt gender quotas, male parliamentarians engage in the risk-taking process of assenting with gender quotas, meanwhile seeking to minimize the potential costs of the policy to their future careers by actively weakening quota designs. To evaluate the plausibility of my theory, I employ a series of multi-method and multi-level analyses presented across five substantive chapters, each of which is respectively based on: 1) a cross-sectional analysis of Latin America countries; 2) an elite survey experiment with Brazilian state legislators; and, in-depth process tracing of the cases of gender quota adoption in 3) Costa Rica; 4) Brazil; and, 5) Chile. The work makes three main contributions. Firstly, although previously identified, the resistance of male legislators towards gender quotas had never been systematically analysed in a comparative manner; focusing on the behaviour of male incumbents is thus a relevant contribution. Secondly, although various authors have provided explanations for the origins of gender quota adoptions, no work had ever comparatively assessed sources of the variation in gender quota designs. Thus, I move the study of gender quotas beyond the binary choice of adoption. Thirdly, I show that the static assumptions of endogenous institutionalism need to be modified by the introduction of risk, which can only be achieved by integrating the insights of prospect theory.

The goal of the current study was to explore whether personality differentially predicts performance for male and female leaders. The predictive relationship between personality assessment and performance evaluation is a cornerstone of performance management practice. Using the lens of gender stereotype theory, the relationship between personality assessment and performance evaluation was reconsidered. It was hypothesized that the gender stereotypes associated with certain leader personality traits may have a differential impact on the performance evaluations of female leaders. In order to test this, gender as a moderator in the relationship between Hogan personality assessments and multi-rater performance evaluations was examined in a sample of mid- to senior-level leaders at a large multi-national consumer products organization. Results revealed no significant differences in the performance evaluations of male and female leaders. Results provided partial support for the proposition that personality differentially predicts performance for male and female leaders; the traits that predicted performance for female leaders differed from the traits that predicted performance for male leaders. Significant gender differences in personality were broadly consistent with gender stereotypes, but were not central to the relationship between personality and performance. Exploratory analyses revealed that the predictive relationship between personality and performance also varied by leader ethnicity, with personality only significantly predicting performance for White leaders. The predictive relationship between personality and performance also varied intersectionally, with personality only significantly predicting performance for White and non-US male leaders; personality did not significantly predict performance for female leaders of any ethnicity. This study highlights the unique contribution of stereotype theory to the structures of performance management and adds nuance to the conversation on performance evaluation for leaders of non-dominant social identity groups.

This study is a textual analysis of the mainstream media coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, surveying more than 1,000 news stories featuring Clinton, Palin, Obama, Biden and McCain published between January 1, 2007 and November 11, 2008. The central findings of this study are twofold: first, mainstream news sources continue to use stereotypical and sexist news frames that describe women in ways that are at odds with the criteria we set for being a good president; and second, feminism is characterized in ways that divorce the ideas of the movement from the activism necessary to overcome existing injustices. Chapter 2 discusses how the news frames and double binds-in place for more than 100 years in media coverage and constructions of women-are still being used to describe women candidates today. These frames highlight sexist concerns about how women candidates will balance their public and private lives and deflect the multiple, competing roles women are capable of enacting. Chapter 3 analyses news articles that relate the terms "feminism" and "feminist" to comments about Clinton and Palin to determine the ways in which the movement is being defined by mainstream media. The chapter argues that this coverage offered a limited vision of feminism that ignored race, class, and issues presented in the third wave. It also divorces the feminist movement from the activist work that has and will continue to make change possible in our country by equating feminism with postfeminist ideas. Chapter 4 highlights the associations made between the male candidates and the women's movement. The coverage of the male candidates in the campaign posits a vision of women's experiences that are defined through the media by male candidates. These definitions highlight women as caregivers and separate the issues important to women from the feminist activism necessary to work toward changing the situation women in the United States face. Finally, the conclusion offers suggestions for how to intervene in the 135-year cycle that perpetuates limited and damaging views of women candidates and of the feminist movement. Through these types of interventions, feminist-minded men and women can continue to work toward more positive and fair representations of women candidates and that changes in representations of women candidates will lead to the election of the first woman president of the United States.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 47 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 42-44).

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.155-191).

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 26, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Kenneth E. Pigg. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.