April 20, 2005

1. April 20, 2005 • What about Newt? • A Note about the 9/11 commission and class next Monday • Senator Hagel next Monday, Karen Hughes on May 3rd • Welcome, Amanda Fuchs • Women & Politics

2. “Knowing Congress as a Gendered Institution”-Georgia Duerst-Lahti

3. Gender in Congress • Argument: Gender analysis should be part of legislative institutional analysis • Gender is more than sex difference • Gender incorporates socially induced practices; practices become part of institutions • Gender has normative dimensions…with masculinism proving potent in most public institutions

4. Views on Power “If founding mothers rather than founding fathers had organized Congress originally, and dominated it through evolution, Congress likely would be a very different institution.” • Men: individuate, get noticed by speaking out and standing out, view dominance is at stake • Women: connect, build relationships, cooperation

5. Impact on Congress • Low numbers of women results in: • Limited effect on the rules • Fewer numbers in Leadership positions • Less influence on institutional processes • Structure of Congress is decentralized • Fosters individual power bases that can deter change

6. “Norms” and Practices “Oftentimes informal norms can lead to formal structures and formal rules can lead to informal structures.” • Key Question: To what extent do women self-select into or out of Congress as a result of norms? • Legislative discourse: women talked over by male counterparts • Weakening seniority practices may work against women • Deference to women on “feminine” policy areas may work to women’s advantages

7. Issues “The founders inherited laws, institutions, and values that portrayed politics as an exclusively male enterprise, and they accepted that system much to their own advantage.” • Prominence of lawyers as a gateway profession • Expect masculinity reflected in legislative bodies • Collective goal of individual independence • Gender equality is not achieved if women must acquire a masculine character to succeed

8. “Women as Candidates in Congressional Elections”-Richard E. Matland and David C. King

9. Previous Research • Election Results: Women who make it to general election tend to perform as well as the men • Issues: women may never make it to the general election, superior women doing as well as average men is not equality, election results do not show if sex affected the voter’s decision calculus

10. Previous Research • Survey Evidence: • women voters will cross party lines to support a woman candidate • there was no evidence of men crossing party lines simply to support men • party and issue cues were overwhelmingly used as the most relevant cue to voting • a small subsection of voters based their votes on gender contrary to party affiliation

11. Previous Research • Experimental Evidence • Concerning issues that male candidates are thought superior at handling: results are ambiguous • Character: female candidates seen as more honest • Issues: experiments use students as subjects, experiments have given respondents little information to evaluate the candidates

12. Results of Study • Gender effects are present even with party labels • Female candidates have some advantages in congressional campaigns • Republicans: gender appears to signal that the candidate is more liberal than a Republican male • Independents and Democrats: gender does not send a strong ideological signal; view female Republicans as more likely to share their concerns

13. Results of Study • Republican women may have advantages over Republican men as general election candidates • Republican women appear to have problems within their own party

14. “The Difference Women Make”-Michele L. Swers

15. Findings “…female legislators do exhibit a profound commitment to the pursuit of policies for women, children, and families.” • Increased numbers do not necessarily mean increased power over outcomes • Limited access to leadership has decreased the amount of power women can exert over public policy • Most women in Congress are Democrats—the minority party—further diminishing the influence of women • Moderate Republicans, socially conservative Democrats, and defense-hawk Democrats must balance between preferences and power considerations

16. Credits • Presentation based on: Georgia Duerst-Lahti. 2003. “Knowing Congress as a Gendered Institution: Manliness and the Implications of Women in Congress.” In Cindy Simon Rosenthal (ed) Women Transforming Congress. University of Oklahoma Press. (in the course packet).· Richard E. Matland & David C. King. 2003. "Women as Candidates in Congressional Elections." in Cindy Simon Rosenthal, ed., Women Transforming Congress. University of Oklahoma Press. (available online and in the course packet).Images from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/october96/debates_10-4.html Accessed 4/20/2005 http://feinstein.senate.gov/108women.htm Accessed 4/20/2005

17. “Through the Glass Ceiling”-Senator Susan Collins

18. Collins on Campaigning • “I got to answer nosey questions about my personal life…” • “My wardrobe got more ink than my proposals for economic development.” • “I got to participate in debates in which I was criticized for being too aggressive while my male opponents were described as forceful.”

19. Lessons • Don’t assume the stupid issues will just go away. • Make it clear to the news media that equal treatment with male opponents is expected. • Take nothing for granted…you have to fight for it.

20. “Why Women Don’t Run: Explaining Women’s Underrepresentation in America’s Political Institutions”-Laurel Elder

21. Context • 2004: Women hold only 13.6% of seats in Congress, 10% of governorships, 22.3% of state legislative seats • Studies show that women and men in similar races raise equal amounts of money, win the same percentage of overall vote, and have similar success rates. • Reason for low numbers: WOMEN DO NOT RUN

22. Hypotheses • Gender Role Attitudes: public perception that politics is for men • Structural: gender gap in the resources that facilitate political activity • Situational: the result of the additional roles women take on • Political Role Gender Socialization: children learn at a young age that politics is for men

23. Result • College women in sample were more committed to the concept of gender equality than college men. • Example: College students disagreeing with statement “Women should take care of running the home and leave the running of the country to men.” • Women: 95.6% • Men: 76%

24. Results • Men more likely than women to have considered running for office • “Ambition” gap exists even in young populations and between men and women of similar socioeconomic status • No gender gap for junior high students • Women less likely than men to believe they were knowledgeable enough to be good politicians

25. Results • No significant gender gap in evaluation of statement that family responsibilities might prevent them from carrying out their duties as an elected official • Significant predictors for women’s political desire: age (-), marriage (+), family obligations (-) • Female role models have a positive impact on women’s political interest

26. Conclusion • Political gender role socialization is still occurring during adolescent years • Situational hypothesis results are contradictory • Having children hinders a woman’s political ambition • Women more likely to consider marriage and children in the decision calculus than men • Marriage boosts women’s desire for politics

27. Credits • Presentation based on: Senator Susan Collins. 2004. “Through the Glass Ceiling.” Pgs. 93-7 in Lia Larson (ed), Skirting Tradition: Women in Politics Speak to the Next Generation. Harvard University Institute of Politics;· Laurel Elder. 2004. “Why Women Don’t Run: Explaining Women’s Underrrpresentation in America’s Political Institutions.” Women & Politics 26(2):27-55. • Images from: “Sen. Susan Collins” http://www.wlbz2.com/assetpool/images/0312114732_Susan%20Collins.jpg Accessed 4/20/2005; “Pie Chart” http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/Facts2.html Accessed 4/20/2005.