The Impact of Women in Congress
- Content Type
- Journal Article
- Journal
- Political Science Quarterly
- Volume
- 123
- Issue Number
- 2
- Publication Date
- Summer 2008
- Institution
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract
- The title understates the scope of this book. While students of Congress indeed should read this book—and not only those interested in women—so should those concerned about policymaking, representation, and new approaches to studying institutions. Its conclusions are sophisticated and nuanced, and illuminate all of these fields. It also answers persistent questions about the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation, concluding indisputably that women's presence matters but that their impact is moderated by numbers, power, position, issue opportunity, and the attitudes, ideas, and concerns of both voters and men in Congress, especially male leaders.