Misperceptions of Male Bias Against Female Candidates: An Obstacle to Women’s Political Representation?

Do people believe that others in their community prefer male to female political candidates? To what extent is that perceived bias actually misperceived , and who do people view as the most biased? Perceived gender norms often diverge from actual levels of support for gender equality globally, particularly among men. These (mis)perceptions, often stemming from pluralistic ignorance, may undermine women’s political ambition and access to political power. In a nationally representative survey of Moroccans, we embed a conjoint experiment that asks respondents to identify not only the candidates they personally prefer but also the candidates they perceive male and female voters as preferring. We find no evidence of pro-male bias in respondents’ own preferences. We do find that respondents perceive that men are biased in favor of men and that women are biased in favor of women. We also find that men express greater personal bias against female candidates when they are primed to think first about others’ preferences.