Are perceptions of inter-party conflict-gendered and do they shape political ambition among citizens and politicians?

Political conflict is endemic in politics. While women politicians are known to engage in more consensual practices than men, it remains unclear whether these differences arise from women politicians having distinct preferences regarding inter-party conflicts. Furthermore, our understanding of how women citizens value inter-party conflict is limited, as is our understanding of whether these evaluations contribute to their lower political ambition. To address these questions, we conducted a parallel survey among 744 Members of Parliament and 14,461 citizens across 10 countries. While our findings reveal that women citizens are generally less supportive of inter-party conflict, women politicians do not share this aversion. In addition, our results suggest that women citizens are less politically ambitious, but this is not explained by their preference for consensus. Given that women are more likely to stand if encouraged, our results suggest that parties are less likely to recruit conflict-averse women.