The polarising effect of female leaders: Interest in politics and perceived leadership capability after a reminder of Australia's first female prime minister

The current study examined the impact of observing successful women being attacked on gender lines through reactions to gender‐based criticism directed towards Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Australian undergraduate students completed a measure of conformity to gender norms and then read statements about either: (a) generic difficulties for leaders; or (b) statements about gender‐based difficulties experienced by Gillard. Results showed that, relative to those who read the generic article, female participants high on conformity to feminine norms displayed lower desire to be involved in politics after reading about Gillard's gender‐based difficulties, while low conformers showed greater desire to be involved in politics. For male participants, those high on conformity to masculine norms showed greater belief in their own leadership capabilities after reading about Gillard's gender‐based difficulties than when reading about generic difficulties, while low conforming men showed the opposite pattern. Implications for achieving gender equality are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.