The Michigan Candidate Proportion Study identifies candidates for local office (i.e. county level and below) or party precinct delegate in the five most populous counties in Michigan (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, and Kenty) who are either social workers or lawyers, respectively. Precinct delegates represent a potential counterfactual to declared candidates. That is, they are similar to candidates in all respects except for having run for public office. This is significant because there is very little observable information to use to identify potential candidates; they could come from anywhere. By talking to both candidates and delegates, important distinctions are uncovered between the two that help explain why candidates ran for office while delegates did not. The social workers identified are contacted for interviews, while a stratified random sample of lawyers are contacted, based on the gender distribution in the social worker sample. Interviews concern their professional interest and socialization, gender socialization, and political involvement.
Geographic Coverage: Michigan
Time Period: 2017
Unit of Observation: Individual
Universe: Individuals with either a LMSW, or who are members of the Michigan Bar Association, who have also run for office, either as a candidate at the local level (county level and below), or as a party precinct delegate in the five most populous counties in Michigan.
Sample: To identify social workers, a license list was purchased from the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. 7731 social workers were identified across all five counties. A total of 14762 individual candidates and delegates were identified across all five counties. Of these, 56 social workers were matched from the LMSW list. 24017 lawyers were identified across all five counties. Of these, 584 lawyers were matched from the Bar Assocation list. All social workers were contacted for interviews, while a stratified sample of 56 lawyers were contacted for interviews, based on the gender distribution of the social work sample.
Time Method: Cross-Sectional
Mode of Data Collection: structured interviews
Response Rates: While the project is ongoing, 10 social workers have been interviewed, for a response rate of 17.8%. 5 lawyers have been interviewed, for a response rate of 8.9%.
Meehan, P. Avoiding the arena: Evidence of social work women's absence from elected office.