Does the perceived prestige of a political office affect support for women candidates?

Research documents that women political leaders tend to be excluded from the highest and most prestigious political offices such as the presidency or gubernatorial offices in the U.S. However, it is not clear if the perceived prestige of a political office directly leads voters away from supporting a woman political candidate or if other characteristics of the highest political offices hinder women’s advancement through the political pipeline. This research note examines how voters rate the prestige of various political offices from local to federal offices, and, through exploratory analysis, connects the perceived prestige of these offices to levels of support for women political candidates. I also consider the relationship between high prestige and high masculinity for political offices. The empirical tests in this research note do not find that perceived prestige directly leads to less support for women political candidates.