Risen to the Top, but at a Disadvantage: Examining the Role of Career Capital in Gendered Party Leaders’ Political Survival

The literature on women party leaders has produced important findings regarding the challenges women face, both getting elected to the highest party office and staying on while there. This article adds to this understanding by examining the political experience, i.e. the career capital, that women party leaders bring with them to these positions. Using original data from 10 parliamentary democracies (1976-2023), I find a gender gap in political survival and examine inequality in career capital as a potential explanation for women's shorter tenures. I build upon the literature about gendered political resources by arguing that unequal opportunity structures within parties give rise to gender differences in career capital, even for those who reach the highest political party position. In addition, I find evidence that women party leaders with average or below average career capital face harsher standards and that youth wing capital potentially hurts right-wing women party leaders. More favourably, the gender gap in career capital is shrinking for the more recent cohort of leaders.