Level Playing Field for All?

What makes a candidate viable in the eyes of the voters? What makes someone qualified to run for office? Why do voters tend to opt for certain types of people and not others? How much are such tendencies rooted in broad characteristics-racial or ethnic group, gender, etc.-versus more idiosyncratic traits, those tied to respective candidates' presentation of self? Whatever the broader issues, it is clear that to date, women, when compared to men, have faced greater obstacles to being seen as viable candidates for elected office. A Level Playing Field for All? examines candidates' use of sports in election campaigns as a way to understand broader issues of candidate viability and in particular, the hurdles that women must overcome to achieve political office. This book reveals the extent to which athletic participation has become a social eligibility factor in the success of candidates for elected office. Doherty examines the role participation in athletics played for women looking to run for office. She goes on to appraises the ways in which potential cutbacks and already limited opportunities for women in sports might further affect their opportunities to attain viable candidate status.

Written in accessible prose that will make it available to broader audiences, Leanne Doherty's Level Playing Field for All? Female Political Leadership and Athletics promises to initiate a conversation about the growing role of participation in athletics as a potential calling card for political candidates, particularly women. This book is especially relevant, as athletes and sports culture will likely garner greater attention, as more and more candidates hail from non-traditional careers for politicians and have varied levels of experience, if any, in formal governance., By analyzing the intersection of gender, sports and public policy, this well-researched book offers a unique and engaging account of factors central to understanding political leadership. Professor Doherty fills a gapping hole in the literature with this creative and timely account of women’s quest for institutional and social power., Leanne Doherty argues forcefully that amateur and professional athletic experience are now criteria in candidates' self-assessments and self-presentations and, by extension, in voters' decision-making. Her book surveys the political economics of sport, offers analyses of campaign websites, and provides a policy analysis of the battles that now define Title IX. In so doing, she delineates the ways in which sports gives or constrains access to power for men and for women.

Leanne Doherty is assistant professor of political science at Simmons College.