The Impact of Female Political Leaders on Attitudes towards Gender Equality and Violence : - Survey evidence from Kerala, India

Studies have repeatedly reported that states with higher levels of gender equality are more peaceful. Similarly, research has shown that individuals who hold feminist attitudes also hold more peaceful attitudes. This paper argues that there is a lack of studies on the relationship between gender equality and peaceful attitudes on the individual level. Building upon studies suggesting that gender equality is key in working towards peace, this paper investigates whether female political leaders can affect attitudes to gender equality and to violence. By integrating experimental components in a comparative case study, this study gathered survey-evidence from two villages in Kerala, India. The findings suggest that continuous exposure to female political leaders lead to more approving attitudes of gender equality but does not find enough support suggesting that attitudes towards violence are affected