Women's Underrepresentation in the U.S. Congress

Kira Sanbonmatsu

doi:10.1162/daed_a_01772

Abstract

Women's elective office-holding stands at an all-time high in the United States. Yet women are far from parity. This underrepresentation is surprising given that more women than men vote. Gender–as a feature of both society and politics–has always worked alongside race to determine which groups possess the formal and informal resources and opportunities critical for winning elective office. But how gender connects to office-holding is not fixed; instead, women's access to office has been shaped by changes in law, policy, and social roles, as well as the activities and strategies of social movement actors, political parties, and organizations. In the contemporary period, data from the Center for American Women and Politics reveal that while women are a growing share of Democratic officeholders, they are a declining share of Republican officeholders. Thus, in an era of heightened partisan polarization, women's situation as candidates increasingly depends on party.

Highlights

Women’s elective office-holding stands at an all-time high in the United States
Elective officeholders in the United States have always been majority male. This gender imbalance in politics may seem unremarkable and unworthy of investigation precisely because it appears to be a permanent feature of the political system
American women vote at a higher rate than men and have for four decades.[1]

Summary

Introduction

Women’s elective office-holding stands at an all-time high in the United States. Yet women are far from parity. I ronically, often overlooked within the U.S politics literature about women’s election to office is politics itself, with more scholarly attention paid to social dynamics than to political dynamics.[32] But political actors including parties and interest groups shape candidate recruitment, campaigns, and election results, with gendered and raced implications.

Results

Conclusion