03 Aug The Role Model Effect: Why Latter-day Saint Women in Office Inspire the Next Generation
There is a concept in social science research called the role model effect. It describes something most of us have experienced intuitively: people are far more likely to pursue a path when they can see someone like themselves walking it.
In politics, this effect is well-documented. Communities that have had visible women leaders tend to see more women candidates in subsequent election cycles. The inverse is equally true — it is genuinely difficult to become something you have never seen.
This is one of the most compelling reasons for Latter-day Saint women to step into public life.
What the Research Shows
When girls and young women grow up watching women lead in public roles, their sense of what is possible for themselves expands. Research consistently finds that the socialization young women experience — the examples set before them, the paths they see modeled — significantly shapes their career choices and civic ambitions later in life.
When those examples are absent, so is the aspiration.
“The validation that their voices are needed is so critical to getting more women involved and overcoming the inherent barriers that so many people face and getting them to feel like those…mountains are worth climbing.”
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— Deidre Henderson, Lieutenant Governor of Utah
The Barriers Are Cultural — Not Doctrinal
Latter-day Saint women are not the only women who face barriers to political leadership. But the barriers our community faces are primarily cultural — not theological or legal. Our doctrine does not prohibit civic leadership. In fact, our Church leaders have explicitly and repeatedly encouraged it.
What sometimes holds Latter-day Saint women back is an internalized sense that public life is not meant for them — that service is best expressed in private, not public, spaces. But those are cultural assumptions, not divine mandates.
When Latter-day Saint women step into visible civic roles, they do two things at once: they serve their communities directly, and they rewrite what the next generation believes is possible.
Candace Andersen, a Contra Costa County Supervisor, traces her own civic awakening to a moment she witnessed as a teenager:
“I remember as a 16-year-old sitting [at the legislature] and hearing some very articulate women espouse why they thought a law should pass, which was completely counter to my viewpoint and to the one that my mother was there for. And I remember…thinking, ‘Why aren’t there more women there representing my values?’ And that was just one of those little epiphanies.”
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— Candace Andersen, Contra Costa County Supervisor
That moment — witnessing women speaking confidently in the halls of power — planted a seed. Andersen later ran for office herself, and has now served her community in elected roles for years.
The Message We Send by Showing Up
We teach the young women in our congregations and communities that they can do anything. That their voices matter. That their values are worth standing up for. That the world needs the best they have to give.
Those are not just words for Sunday meetings. They are a call to action that we must model.
When a young woman watches a member of her congregation run for school board, testify at a city council meeting, or serve on a county commission — something shifts in her sense of what is possible. The message she receives is not just she can do this. The message is: someone like me does this. That is far more powerful.
Investing in the Future, Right Now
You do not have to run for Congress to make an impact on the next generation. Serving on a planning commission, showing up at a school board meeting, volunteering on a local campaign — all of these are visible acts of civic engagement that young women around you are watching.
What would it mean for the girls in your congregation, your neighborhood, or your family to grow up seeing women who look like them, who share their faith, choosing to lead in public life?
The role model effect works — but only if there are role models.
Create the Example You Needed
If you are considering getting more involved in public service, know that your decision affects more than just you. It sends a message to every young woman watching that this path is open — that faith and civic leadership are not in tension, but are, in fact, deeply aligned.
Project Elect would love to help you take that step. Visit projectelectwomen.org or fill out our JOIN US form to connect with our community of women who are leading the way.
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