Female Candidates and Legislators

2015/02/24 by Jennifer L. Lawless · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Gender Politics and Representation #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Historical Gender and Feminism Studies

paper · doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-020614-094613

openalex publication_date 2015/02/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

For decades, scholars have uncovered evidence that male and female legislators' priorities and preferences differ and that women's inclusion brings to elite-level politics a more cooperative leadership style. They also point to the symbolic benefits associated with more diversity among candidates and office holders. Although these effects are not uniform, there is no question among political scientists that women's presence in US political institutions bears directly on issues of substantive and symbolic representation. Accordingly, it is important to understand why we have so few women in politics, whether they are willing to run for office, what happens when they do, and the extent to which their presence systematically affects the legislative process. I cover each of these topics in this review, emphasizing the latest and most interesting research that speaks to these questions.

Citations

• Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952-1996
• Power and Influence in State Legislative Policymaking: The Interaction of Gender and Position in Committee Hearing Debates
• Gender as a Factor in the Attribution of Leadership Traits
• Women, War, and Winning Elections: Gender Stereotyping in the Post-September 11th Era
• Politics of Presence? Congresswomen and Symbolic Representation
• Will She Stay or Will She Go? Career Ceilings and Women's Retirement from the U.S. Congress
• Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent "Yes"
• A Portrait of Marginality: The Political Behavior of the American Women.
• Sexism and Gender Bias in Election 2008: A More Complex Path for Women in Politics
• Running Backwards and in High Heels
• Who Cares What They Wear? Media, Gender, and the Influence of Candidate Appearance
• If Only They’d Ask: Gender, Recruitment, and Political Ambition
• A Non-Gendered Lens? Media, Voters, and Female Candidates in Contemporary Congressional Elections
• A Portrait of Marginality, the Political Behavior of the American Woman
• Gendered Perceptions and Political Candidacies: A Central Barrier to Women's Equality in Electoral Politics

Cited by

• The Ties That Double Bind: Social Roles and Women's Underrepresentation in Politics
• Jennifer L. Lawless [wikipedia]

Related

• Women's Underrepresentation in the U.S. Congress
• The Impact of Women on State Legislative Policies
• Gender in Politics
• Women's Substantive Representation: Defending Feminist Interests or Women's Electoral Preferences?
• The Invincible Gender Gap in Political Ambition