Stevenson, Randolph T2022-09-232022-09-232022-122022-09-22December 2Pascu-Lindner, Andra Diana. "The Effect of Gender and Gender Stereotypes on Voter Evaluations of Complex Coalitional Environments." (2022) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113299">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113299</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/113299This dissertation examines the impact of gender and gender stereotypes on voters' evaluations of high-information political environments. I first contend that there is an independent effect of Prime Minister gender on voter expectations of government formation outcomes -- and that government type and ideology will interact with the gender of the Prime Minister in meaningful ways. Using an experimental approach, I do not find systematic evidence to support the notion that Prime Minister gender is an important heuristic that voters rely on when forming expectations of future electoral outcomes. These findings -- despite refuting the theoretical expectations that I initially develop, have positive normative implications. This study reveals that voters hold accurate beliefs regarding the determinants of government participation and are able to assess a cabinets' chances of formation reasonably. Additionally, it suggests that male and female Prime Ministers are largely perceived as equally likely to be successful in forming a government. At the highest echelons of political power in coalition systems in Europe, it does not appear that female contenders for the position of Prime Minister suffer as a result of entrenched gender stereotypes on the part of voters.application/pdfengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.GenderstereotypesPrime MinisterThesis2022-09-23