Women and Congressional elections
Subtitle: a century of change
By: Barbara Palmer and Dennis Simon
Contributors: Simon, Dennis Michael
Series: Tower Center political studies
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Boulder, Colo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 285
ISBN-13: 9781588268150; 9781588268402
Subjects: United States; Women political candidates; United States. Congress; History; Women legislators; Elections; Political activity; Women
Description: Since 1916, when the first woman was elected to the US Congress, fewer than 10 percent of all members have been women. Why is this number so extraordinarily small? And how has the presence of women in the electoral arena changed over the past hundred years? Barbara Palmer and Dennis Simon combine a rich analytical narrative, data on nearly 40,000 candidates, and colorful stories from the campaign trail in the most thorough accounting of women's performance in House and Senate elections ever presented. The authors go beyond the conventional wisdom as they explore the continuing underrepresentation of women in Congress. In the process, they show how the "rules of the game"--Together with an important cluster of demographic characteristics that can make a district more or less "women friendly" -- have shaped opportunities for female candidates across a century of US history. -- Publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Preface; title: Women of the early twentieth century; title: A long slow road: the integration of women into Congress; title: Arrested development: a history of careerism and incumbency; title: Keeping it in the family: widows, daughters, and mothers; title: Women as targets: understanding the competitive environment; title: Red vs blue: a history of the party gap; title: Demographics is destiny: where women are elected; title: Women of the twenty-first century.