How female politicians’ first names can work for and against them, according to science
Source: CNN
Throughout the course of US presidential races, politicians have carefully chosen what names they go by. Bernie and Pete embraced their first names while Biden, Trump and Warren favored their last names. Some, like Nikki Haley, have used both.
As Kamala Harris sets her eyes on the presidency, she is using a combination. The vice president is running under the “Harris for President” slogan – a departure from the “Kamala Harris for the People” motto of her 2020 campaign – but is using her first name for social media accounts, including Kamala HQ on X, formerly Twitter.
There’s a solid science behind each choice, experts say. Candidates, in particular women, can use the psychological connotation of a first name to their advantage, to help them seem more likeable and accessible. But this psychology can also serve as a disadvantage, playing off implicit biases to portray a candidate as less qualified or confident.
A balancing act
The science comes together in a “balancing act for women,” according to Dr. Stav Atir, assistant professor in the Management and Human Resources Department at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, who has studied how gender affects the way we talk about professionals.
Atir was lead author of a study that found people were more than twice as likely to describe a male professional by surname in “high-status” fields, including politics. In the medical field, other research indicates that female physicians are more than twice as likely to be called by their first names instead of “doctor,” compared with their male counterparts.
This difference, the study found, can have real-life effects: People perceived those referred to by their surnames as superior and 14% more deserving of a career award, such as raising funding or being selected for a position.
Read here the full article published by CNN on 5 August 2024.
Image by CNN
Throughout the course of US presidential races, politicians have carefully chosen what names they go by. Bernie and Pete embraced their first names while Biden, Trump and Warren favored their last names. Some, like Nikki Haley, have used both.
As Kamala Harris sets her eyes on the presidency, she is using a combination. The vice president is running under the “Harris for President” slogan – a departure from the “Kamala Harris for the People” motto of her 2020 campaign – but is using her first name for social media accounts, including Kamala HQ on X, formerly Twitter.
There’s a solid science behind each choice, experts say. Candidates, in particular women, can use the psychological connotation of a first name to their advantage, to help them seem more likeable and accessible. But this psychology can also serve as a disadvantage, playing off implicit biases to portray a candidate as less qualified or confident.
A balancing act
The science comes together in a “balancing act for women,” according to Dr. Stav Atir, assistant professor in the Management and Human Resources Department at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, who has studied how gender affects the way we talk about professionals.
Atir was lead author of a study that found people were more than twice as likely to describe a male professional by surname in “high-status” fields, including politics. In the medical field, other research indicates that female physicians are more than twice as likely to be called by their first names instead of “doctor,” compared with their male counterparts.
This difference, the study found, can have real-life effects: People perceived those referred to by their surnames as superior and 14% more deserving of a career award, such as raising funding or being selected for a position.
Read here the full article published by CNN on 5 August 2024.
Image by CNN