The Barbara Lee Foundation has once again conducted a research study to help women candidates become winners in their elections.  Pitch Perfect: Winning Strategies for Women Candidates, offers a clear roadmap to help women perfect their messages and show voters they are well qualified.

The latest research provides direction for women who are running for major statewide office: how to introduce themselves to voters to demonstrate their qualifications; what language contributes to voters believing they are qualified; and how to present themselves in a way that conveys they are qualified.

Specifics from the research:

• Voters continue to have high standards for what they consider a “qualified” woman candidate.

• Confidence is critical. Women candidates for major statewide office must come across as confident, qualified and competent in their initial presentation.

•  Women candidates especially need to tout their experience and track record, including taking on political insiders.

•  Voters want assurance that women can get the job done in the largely male game of politics.

• For women candidates, there is a correlation between being qualified and being likeable. That is not the case for men.

•  Because qualifications and likeability are so closely linked, there are dual negative consequences for women when they make mistakes on the campaign trail.

In general, by wide margins, voters believe that it is harder for a woman candidate to appear qualified than a male.  Voters already believe that most women running for major office in their states are hard-working, confident, organized, knowledgeable, compassionate, assertive, strong, and leaders.  While these are all positive qualities, they do not all convey to voters that a candidate is qualified. The traits that well describe women who run for major statewide office and convey qualifications are confident, organized, and knowledgeable.

Click here for the Barbara Lee Foundation full research report.