This paper draws on recent developments in political psychology and behavioural economics to examines the contributory role of personality and risk attitudes in the decision to run for political office. Evidence suggests that women, in most industrialized democracies, have as good a chance as men of getting elected to public office and the real difficulties in achieving equitable representation lie in the candidate emergence and nomination stages. This project moves current research beyond the study of electoral results and voter data to examine the pool of potential candidates, exploring why qualified women do not put themselves forward for election. Drawing on an original survey of professionals in the Republic of Ireland the paper explores whether those who are more accepting of risk are more likely to contemplate running for political office. The paper argues that putting oneself forward for election, especially in a country with a preferential electoral system, involves considerable public exposure and requires a risk accepting personality and that this may partly explain the continued underrepresentation of women in elected office.
