Winning as a woman in charge

After Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation, incoming governor Kathy Hochul declared “no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.” Instead, she promised that “transparency will be the hallmark of my administration,” and followed through by including larger COVID death totals in her first daily report on the crisis. At a time when New Yorkers are fearful of a new wave of COVID infections and are once again attuned to the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, Hochul is leaning into the positive characteristics voters associate with women’s leadership in an effort to become the first female governor to win a full term in office.

Whereas Cuomo was aggressive and abrasive, and missed few opportunities to assert his alpha-male status in conflicts with New York City’s mayor, female leaders are perceived as more collaborative and consensus-oriented, seeking to build trust with stakeholders and consider a wide range of viewpoints. Highlighting this commitment to collaboration, Hochul has promised to empower local leaders to fight the pandemic, in contrast to Cuomo who often required local officials to seek permission from the governor’s office before undertaking significant policy changes. Hochul is known for her personable style and has made a point a point of traveling to all 62 counties each year as lieutenant governor. She notes that while she was not part of Cuomo’s inner circle, she plans to develop a collaborative relationship with her lieutenant governor that is more akin to the dynamic between President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Whatever the benefits of this approach, voters are more likely to associate a consensus-building style with legislative rather than executive roles. Female candidates have had more difficulty winning elections for governor and the presidency, where voters are accustomed to a forceful, “buck-stops-here” type of leadership. As political candidates, women operate within a narrower range of acceptable behavior as they try to portray themselves as strong leaders who are both feminine and highly competent.

So, in an effort to embrace male leadership traits and counter questions about their electoral viability, women often describe themselves as fighters. For example, Sen. Elizabeth Warren turned a Senate procedural tactic to cut off debate into a clarion call to action with social media memes declaring “nevertheless, she persisted.” Throughout her presidential campaign, she continuously described herself as a fighter for issues important to the lives of women and their families such as expanding child care and paid parental leave.

Similarly, as she was sworn into office, Hochul surrounded herself with symbols of both femininity and strength. She wore white to symbolize the suffrage movement and the historic nature of being the first female governor. At the same time, referencing Teddy Roosevelt’s “man in the arena” speech, she described herself as “willing to be bloodied and marred in the pursuit of doing what’s right for the people of this great state.”

Hochul knows that with a large field of potential gubernatorial candidates, she will have to quickly prove her electoral viability. Therefore, she will emphasize her deep history of experience in New York politics at the local, state and national level. Her long political resume including stints on her town board, as Erie County Clerk and a term in Congress, reflects a common pattern among female candidates. Research shows women are less likely to run for office than men and women feel they must prove their expertise by amassing more qualifications before seeking higher office. Indeed, there are very few female Andrew Yangs, the business entrepreneur who mounted campaigns for president and mayor, despite never having held elective office.

A final important consideration for Hochul is that as a Democrat, she must court a set of voters and activists who are increasingly progressive and value diversity in leadership. Seeking to distance herself from Cuomo, she committed to purging anyone who facilitated his behavior and she said she would institute stronger sexual harassment training. As a moderate white woman from upstate New York, she has turned to Brian Benjamin, a Black state senator from Harlem who has actively supported criminal justice reform, to help her bring more progressives and people of color into her coalition. My own research shows that Democratic female legislators are particularly active advocates for legislation related to women, children and families, which suggests Hochul is likely to lean into these issues.

If she can successfully navigate these leadership challenges Kathy Hochul could become the first female governor elected in her own right and the first governor from an area outside of New York City and the surrounding suburbs since FDR left office in the early 1930s.

Swers is a professor of American government at Georgetown University and author of “Women in the Club: Gender and Policy Making in the Senate” and “The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress.”