Sex Differences in Political Leadership in an Egalitarian Society

DOI

10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.03.005

Abstract

We test the contribution of sex differences in physical formidability, education, and cooperation to the acquisition of political leadership in a small-scale society. Among forager-farmers from the Bolivian Amazon, we find that men are more likely to exercise different forms of political leadership, including verbal influence during community meetings, coordination of community projects, and dispute resolution. We show that these differences in leadership are not due to gender per se but are associated with men's greater number of cooperation partners, greater access to schooling, and greater body size and physical strength. Men's advantage in cooperation partner number is tied to their participation in larger groups and to the opportunity costs of women's intrahousehold labor. We argue these results highlight the mutual influence of sexual selection and the sexual division of labor in shaping how women and men acquire leadership.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2018

Comments

Refer to Dr. Christopher von Rueden's website for further information.

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier for the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. This article first appeared in Evolution and Human Behavior 39:4 (2018), 402-411.

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Citation Example for Article (Chicago):

von Rueden, Christopher, Sarah Alami, Hillard Kaplan, and Michael Gurven. "Sex Differences in Political Leadership in an Egalitarian Society." Evolution and Human Behavior 39, no. 4 (July 2018): 402-411.

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