This thesis seeks to understand public perceptions of women politicians in Germany, specifically ... more This thesis seeks to understand public perceptions of women politicians in Germany, specifically Chancellor Angela Merkel, and evaluates these perceptions based on gender, region, and representation of CDU/CSU female legislators in the Bundestag. While literature suggests that there are benefits of greater female representation in legislatures, there is a lack of research regarding how this representation impacts perceptions held by the citizens these women represent. Important to the study is also the difference in perceptions according to gender and the former East/West divide in order to understand the gender gap in Germany and the extent of the social impact left by the Communist regime. Using bivariate and multivariate tests of an original survey and data from the 2017 Pre-and-Post Election German Longitudinal Election Study, I find significant distinctions across genders toward female legislators in Germany but limited geographical influence. Further data analysis suggests that while greater presence of CDU female legislators negatively impacts perceptions among CDU women of Merkel, the extent or strength of that relationship is unclear. Analysis of interviews of German female politicians provides overall support of the gender bias findings, providing first hand insight into role of gender in German politics. iii ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Diese Abschlussarbeit versucht, öffentliche Wahrnehmungen über Politikerinnen, speziell Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, in Deutschland zu verstehen. Sie bewerten diese Wahrnemungen nicht nur aufgrund von dem Geschlecht und der Region der Umfrageteilnehmer, sondern auch in Zusammenhang mit dem Anteil der CDU/CSU Politikerinnen im Bundestag. Die Forschungsliteratur weist darauf hin, dass es Vorteile von einem großen weiblichen Anteil im Bundestag gibt, aber es gibt wenig Forschung darüber, wie dieser Anteil die Wahrnehmungen von Bürgern, die diese Politikerinnen repräsentieren, beeinflusst. Diese Studie untersucht den Wahrnehmungunterschied bezüglich Geschlecht und Region, um das Geschlechtergefälle in der deutschen Politik und der gesellschaftliche Einfluss der Teilung Deutschlands zu verstehen. Meine Abschlussarbeit nutzt bivariaten und multivariaten Untersuchungen von einer eigensentwickelten Umfrage sowie Daten von der 2017 Vor-und Nachwahl-Querschnitt German Longitudinal Election Study. Die Analyse der Daten ergibt deutliche Geschlectervorurteile gegenüber Politikerinnen in Deutschland, aber wenig geographischen Einfluss. Weitere Analyse suggertiert, dass der Anteil von CDU/CSU Politikerinnen die Meinungen von CDU weiblichen Umfrageteilnehmeren über Merkel negativ beeinflusst, aber das Ausmaß und die Stärke der Beziehung ist unklar. Analyse von Interviews mit deutschen Politikerinnen liefert eine allgemeine Stärkung der Geschlechtervorurteileergebnisse und liefert einen Einblick in die Funktion des Geschlechtes in der deutschen Politik. iv Dedicated to my parents for their constant support, encouragement, and dinner conversations that taught me to think critically and passionately. Ich widme dieses Projekt auch meinem Opa und meiner Oma, die ich hoffe, stolz auf mich sein wurden. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my committee members, beginning with my Chair, Dr. Timothy Rich. Without Dr. Rich's continuous guidance and unending support over the past three and a half years, this project would not have been possible. I greatly appreciate his encouragement, advice, and his ability to see research potential in me, even when I was unable to see it myself. I would also like to thank my German professor, Dr. Laura McGee. Without Dr. McGee's love, dedication, support, and patience, not only would my German not be where it is, but my time at Western Kentucky University would have been extremely different. I would also like to thank Dr. McGee for her financial support of my studies in Germany through her Armbrust/McGee Scholarship. Third, I would like to thank Dr. Alexander Olsen for encouraging me to think critically about the world and my opinions during Honors 251: Citizen and Self. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to the generous funding provided to me by WKU through the Faculty Undergraduate Student Engagement Grant to begin this research and by the WKU Political Science Department to attend and present at multiple regional conferences. Finally, I would like to thank my family and my friends for supporting me throughout this entire project and always reminding just how capable I am.
This thesis seeks to understand public perceptions of women politicians in Germany, specifically ... more This thesis seeks to understand public perceptions of women politicians in Germany, specifically Chancellor Angela Merkel, and evaluates these perceptions based on gender, region, and representation of CDU/CSU female legislators in the Bundestag. While literature suggests that there are benefits of greater female representation in legislatures, there is a lack of research regarding how this representation impacts perceptions held by the citizens these women represent. Important to the study is also the difference in perceptions according to gender and the former East/West divide in order to understand the gender gap in Germany and the extent of the social impact left by the Communist regime. Using bivariate and multivariate tests of an original survey and data from the 2017 Pre-and-Post Election German Longitudinal Election Study, I find significant distinctions across genders toward female legislators in Germany but limited geographical influence. Further data analysis suggests that while greater presence of CDU female legislators negatively impacts perceptions among CDU women of Merkel, the extent or strength of that relationship is unclear. Analysis of interviews of German female politicians provides overall support of the gender bias findings, providing first hand insight into role of gender in German politics. iii ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Diese Abschlussarbeit versucht, öffentliche Wahrnehmungen über Politikerinnen, speziell Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, in Deutschland zu verstehen. Sie bewerten diese Wahrnemungen nicht nur aufgrund von dem Geschlecht und der Region der Umfrageteilnehmer, sondern auch in Zusammenhang mit dem Anteil der CDU/CSU Politikerinnen im Bundestag. Die Forschungsliteratur weist darauf hin, dass es Vorteile von einem großen weiblichen Anteil im Bundestag gibt, aber es gibt wenig Forschung darüber, wie dieser Anteil die Wahrnehmungen von Bürgern, die diese Politikerinnen repräsentieren, beeinflusst. Diese Studie untersucht den Wahrnehmungunterschied bezüglich Geschlecht und Region, um das Geschlechtergefälle in der deutschen Politik und der gesellschaftliche Einfluss der Teilung Deutschlands zu verstehen. Meine Abschlussarbeit nutzt bivariaten und multivariaten Untersuchungen von einer eigensentwickelten Umfrage sowie Daten von der 2017 Vor-und Nachwahl-Querschnitt German Longitudinal Election Study. Die Analyse der Daten ergibt deutliche Geschlectervorurteile gegenüber Politikerinnen in Deutschland, aber wenig geographischen Einfluss. Weitere Analyse suggertiert, dass der Anteil von CDU/CSU Politikerinnen die Meinungen von CDU weiblichen Umfrageteilnehmeren über Merkel negativ beeinflusst, aber das Ausmaß und die Stärke der Beziehung ist unklar. Analyse von Interviews mit deutschen Politikerinnen liefert eine allgemeine Stärkung der Geschlechtervorurteileergebnisse und liefert einen Einblick in die Funktion des Geschlechtes in der deutschen Politik. iv Dedicated to my parents for their constant support, encouragement, and dinner conversations that taught me to think critically and passionately. Ich widme dieses Projekt auch meinem Opa und meiner Oma, die ich hoffe, stolz auf mich sein wurden. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my committee members, beginning with my Chair, Dr. Timothy Rich. Without Dr. Rich's continuous guidance and unending support over the past three and a half years, this project would not have been possible. I greatly appreciate his encouragement, advice, and his ability to see research potential in me, even when I was unable to see it myself. I would also like to thank my German professor, Dr. Laura McGee. Without Dr. McGee's love, dedication, support, and patience, not only would my German not be where it is, but my time at Western Kentucky University would have been extremely different. I would also like to thank Dr. McGee for her financial support of my studies in Germany through her Armbrust/McGee Scholarship. Third, I would like to thank Dr. Alexander Olsen for encouraging me to think critically about the world and my opinions during Honors 251: Citizen and Self. I would also like to extend a huge thank you to the generous funding provided to me by WKU through the Faculty Undergraduate Student Engagement Grant to begin this research and by the WKU Political Science Department to attend and present at multiple regional conferences. Finally, I would like to thank my family and my friends for supporting me throughout this entire project and always reminding just how capable I am.
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