Politicians carry stereotypes

Elected politicians in Switzerland carry more gender stereotypes than the voters they represent, a new University of Geneva and University of Lausanne study finds.

Politicians are markedly more likely to attribute ambition to men and compassion to women than ordinary citizens are. 

The bias is strongest among right-wing politicians and in German-speaking Switzerland. 

One of the authors says the researchers had not expected elected representatives to hold so many preconceptions — the same people, she notes, tasked with legislating on equality.

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