Political Culture and Female Political Representation

Abstract

RECENT RESEARCH into the determinants of female representation has emphasized that political structures influence the likelihood that women will be elected to state legislatures and city councils. ' These studies demonstrate that women tend to hold legislative seats in states and communities where legislatures are least professional and legislative service least desirable. Explanations of these phenomena are twofold. First, female office seekers may encounter stiffer male opposition in states and communities where legislative compensation is greater, tenure longer and the prestige of office-holding higher.2 Second, sex roles may dictate that women, many of whom are homemakers or mothers of young children, have less time or opportunity for legislative service, especially when it is the equivalent of a full-time occupation.3