While the increase in fundraising dollars is one form of success, being called an angry woman is still perceived of as a character attack in any industry. In electoral politics, being called angry is “a tried-and-true attack on women candidates, which plays into the stereotype that women are ‘too emotional’ for politics,” said Amanda Hunter, Director of Research & Communications for the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.

Since 1998, the foundation has done nonpartisan research for women candidates and recently published a report titled Gender on the Ballot, a deep dive into the idea of electability with American University. That report found that nearly 80% of respondents said the United States is ready to elect a female president. It also found that the so-called “beer test” or the question of whether or not a voter would want to hang out socially with a candidate, fell as a measure of electability for more voters. Voters were more persuaded by candidates that can reflect a ‘deep understanding of the challenges that average Americans face.”

Read more at Forbes