Acknowledgments List of Contributors PART I: Mental Templates of Leaders and Designing an Experiment to Study Templates 1. Mental Templates of Leaders Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson and Nehemia Geva 2. Research Protocol Nehemia Geva and Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson PART II: Findings in Individual Cases 3. Costa Rica - Where Urban Young People View Women as Leaders Gerardo Hernández Naranjo and Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson 4. The Masculine Template in Perceived Competence of Women in Israeli Politics Ayala Yarkoney-Sorek and Nehemia Geva 5. Attitudes Towards Women in Government: Evidence from an Experiment in Canada's Alberta and Quebec Provinces Melanee Thomas, Valérie-Anne Mahéo and Guillaume Bogiaris 6. Young Adult's Attitudes to Women Candidates in Uruguay: No Obstacle to Change Niki Johnson 7. England: Young People View Women as Leaders Claire Annesley, Beatriz Lacerda Ratton and Jake Watts 8. Party over Gender: Young Adult's Evaluations of Political Leaders in California and Texas Kostanca Dhima and Jennifer M. Piscopo 9. A Generation Without Political Gender Biases? The Case of Sweden Elin Bjarnegård, Josefina Erikson and Pär Zetterberg 10. Chile's Shift to the Left and the Rise of Women Alejandra Ramm, José Manuel Gaete and Milena Morales Bonich PART III: Cross-National Findings and Conclusions 11. Meta-Analysis Assessment of Candidate Gender as an Attribute of Young Adult Leadership Templates Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson and Nehemia Geva 12. Do Women Fit the Leadership Image? Yes! Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson and Nehemia Geva References Index

In their innovative study, Taylor-Robinson and Geva leverage survey experiments with young adults from eight democracies across the globe to demonstrate how mental templates of leadership have transformed to be more inclusive of women candidates. This novel research challenges conventional wisdom about preferences for male candidates, showing that women fit the leadership image held by most young adults.

"In their innovative study, Taylor-Robinson and Geva leverage survey experiments with young adults from eight democracies across the globe to demonstrate how mental templates of leadership have transformed to be more inclusive of women candidates. This novel research challenges conventional wisdom about preferences for male candidates, showing that women fit the leadership image held by most young adults." -- Tiffany D. Barnes, Professor of Political Science, University of Kentucky "Taylor-Robinson and Geva's ambitious, collaborative research suggests that young people largely view women as leadersDLacross posts and in stereotypically masculine and feminine policy areas. Their edited volume questions conventional wisdom about the role gender stereotypes now play in politics and sets the stage for future research on this important topic." -- Diana O'Brien, Professor of Political Science, Washington University in Saint Louis "How much do young adults use gender stereotypes in evaluating political candidates? Taylor-Robinson and Geva's study shows that across culturally diverse democracies, candidates' sex, compared to information about candidates' parties, tends to have little impact on assessments of those running for office. However, notable exceptions remain. Anyone curious about voter decision-making and the psychology of gender should read this ambitious, beautifully cohesive volume." -- Catherine Reyes-Housholder, Assistant Professor, Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile "This outstanding collection provides important, cross-national insight into how young people assess women's ability to govern. Through parallel experiments in eight countries, Taylor-Robinson and Geva offer new wisdom into how the presence of women in government is changing who young people view as fit to lead; this is an invaluable text for growing our understanding of modern responses to women in power." -- Melody Valdini, Associate Professor of Political Science, Portland State University

Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson is Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on how the design of democratic institutions affects representation and the consequences for consolidating democracy. Nehemia Geva is Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. His research highlights experimental methodology in the assessment of the public's preferences and choices of political policies and actions.

Selling point: The first multi-country, factorial experiment to compare the ways in which young people view gender and leadership Selling point: Presents evidence that young adults tend to approve of women's ability to hold diverse posts, win votes, and manage stereotypically masculine policy areas Selling point: Provides empirical evidence to dispel myths about what contributes to low election rates of women in established democracies Selling point: Investigates logical steps to achieve gender parity in political leadership