Restoring trust in the police: Why female officers reduce suspicions of corruption

Recent studies show a clear link between women in government and reduced concerns about corruption. Until now, it remains unclear which underlying attitudes about women explain the perception that they will reduce corruption. Using a survey question about adding women to a police force, with an embe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inGovernance (Oxford) Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 143 - 161
Main Authors Barnes, Tiffany D., Beaulieu, Emily, Saxton, Gregory W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2018
Subjects
Attitudes
Corruption
Ethics
Females
Gender stereotypes
Police
Power
Risk
Stereotypes
Women
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Recent studies show a clear link between women in government and reduced concerns about corruption. Until now, it remains unclear which underlying attitudes about women explain the perception that they will reduce corruption. Using a survey question about adding women to a police force, with an embedded experimental treatment, we examine three distinct stereotypes that might explain the power of women to reduce concerns about corruption: gender stereotypes of women as more ethical and honest, the perception of women as political outsiders, and beliefs that women are generally more risk averse. We find that people do perceive women as more effective at combating corruption, and these perceptions are greatly enhanced when information about women's outsider status and risk aversion is provided.
Bibliography:Funding information
University of Kentucky, College of Arts and Sciences, Pilot Data Grant
ISSN:0952-1895
1468-0491
DOI:10.1111/gove.12281