When we think about the role that women play in the legislature, it is almost always based in the world of emotion and feminism/anti-feminism rhetoric. Rarely do we think about the academic ramifications of women in the legislature. I was given this privilege when I spoke to Dr. Vladamir Lenin*, a professor of political science. He said that while women bring a unique perspective to the table, there are things that are more important than gender. He states, “I personally think that women do play a special role in the legislature, however we should not elevate gender about partisanship. Democrat women and republican women will behave differently because of their political ideologies.” While gender is maybe not the most important factor to consider when selecting a candidate, he also acknowledges the distinctive ways in which separate themselves: policy output, leadership style and symbolic role model effect. Women will have different policy agendas, different ideas about leadership and the ability to encourage others to run merely by their presence in legislative roles.
Dr. Lenin adds that research may suggests regional culture tells a lot about the legislative demographic. “A lot of southern states are at, or near, the bottom of the rankings for women in the legislature. There may be some cultural aspects that discourage women from running or there may be fewer women in the political pipeline who are prepared to run.” However, there is no state that has a majority of women. The state with the highest percentage is Colorado, and their legislature is 40% female.
*names have been changed to protect the identities of the interviewees.
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