Becoming Candidates offers a rare, grounded look at women's entry into electoral politics. Based on an unprecedented 188 interviews with 102 candidates from across Brazil’s political spectrum—from Amazonian riverbanks to southern metropolises, across parties, races, and ideologies—this book moves beyond numbers to capture the lived experiences of those who choose to run. The book follows the complete journeys of the candidates: the decision to enter a race, the calculations behind party affiliation, the realities of campaigning, the prevalence of political violence, the experience of defeat, and the adjustments required once in office. Written in clear, accessible prose while engaging with academic research, Becoming Candidates uses Brazil as a lens to examine a broader global challenge—the persistent underrepresentation of women in positions of power. It is a thoughtful resource for anyone seeking to understand why progress has been so slow and what the path forward might look like.

Malu A. C. Gatto is Professor of Latin American Politics at the Institute of the Americas at University College London (UCL). Her work explores questions about the gendered dynamics of political behaviour, representation, and policymaking with a regional focus on Latin America, especially Brazil. She is the author of Resistance to Gender Quotas in Latin America (2025) and several articles published in leading journals, such as Comparative Political Studies, the British Journal of Political Science, Party Politics, and Politics & Gender. ​

Débora Thomé is Assistant Professor of Public Administration at IDP (Brazil), Chair of the Gender Politics and Policy Committee of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), and a former visiting scholar at Columbia University. Her research centers on candidate recruitment and representation, political ambition, and gender bias in institutions. Over the past ten years, she has trained more than 700 women candidates across Brazil. She is the author of eleven books, including Mulheres e Poder (2018).