'It Takes More Than a Candidate'

'It Takes More Than a Candidate'

Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox examine why more women don't run for political office

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How far are we from gender parity in politics?

In a newly updated third edition of It Takes More Than a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office, Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox investigate the gender gap in political ambition
Gender gap report title in pink and green
Visualizing the gender gap

Lawless and Fox team up with the Center for Effective Lawmaking at UVA's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy to help close the gap
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A decades-long trend

Lawless and Fox describe persistent patterns that depress women's interest in seeking elected office in PS: Political Science and Politics
Book cover It Takes More Than a Candidate
About the book

It Takes More Than a Candidate is a systematic account of the gender gap in political ambition, highlighting how women across generations are less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elective office
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About the authors

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and a faculty senior fellow at the Miller Center. Lawless is the author or coauthor of nine books and numerous academic articles. She is regularly cited and interviewed in the popular press. 

Richard L. Fox is dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University. His books and articles focus on the U.S. Congress, elections, media, and gender. His work has been published in top disciplinary journals and popular media outlets.