The Women of the 116th Congress

The Women of the 116th Congress
Author: The New York Times
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2019-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1683357817

A photographic celebration of the women of the 116th—the most diverse Congress in American history. The first woman Speaker of the House. The first female combat veteran. The first Native American women. The first Muslim women. The first openly gay member of the Senate. These are just some of the remarkable firsts represented by the women of the 116th Congress, the most diverse and inclusive in American history. Just over a century ago, Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first and only woman in the House of Representatives. By the time of the 116th Congress, a total of 131 were seated in both chambers. The 2018 midterm elections brought a seismic change—and this book, a collaboration between New York Times photo editors Beth Flynn and Marisa Schwartz Taylor and photographers Elizabeth D. Herman and Celeste Sloman—documents the women of the 116th Congress, photographed in the style of historical portrait paintings commonly seen in the halls of power to highlight the stark difference between how we’ve historically viewed governance and how it has evolved. Also featured are an illustrated timeline and list of firsts for women in Congress; “Her Vote, Her Voice” sections throughout that highlight historical moments in female politics; and an extended introduction and foreword by Roxane Gay. The Women of the 116th Congress is a testament to what representation in the United States looks like in the twenty-first century—and an inspiration for what it may look like in the years to come.

Women of Congress

Women of Congress
Author: Marcy Kaptur
Publisher: CQ-Roll Call Group Books
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1996
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Traces the history of women legislators in Congress, providing an overview of the achievements and progress of women in the House and Senate during three separate periods in history, and including the personal stories of congresswomen who served in each different era.

A Seat at the Table

A Seat at the Table
Author: Kelly Dittmar
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2018-08-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190915757

The presence of women in Congress is at an all-time high -- approximately one of every five members is female -- and record numbers of women are running for public office for the 2018 midterms. At the same time, Congress is more polarized than ever, and little research exists on how women in Congress view their experiences and contributions to American politics today. Drawing on personal interviews with over three-quarters of the women serving in the 114th Congress (2015-17), the authors analyze how these women navigate today's stark partisan divisions, and whether they feel effective in their jobs. Through first-person perspectives, A Seat at the Table looks at what motivates these women's legislative priorities and behavior, details the ways in which women experience service within a male-dominated institution, and highlights why it matters that women sit in the nation's federal legislative chambers. It describes the strategies women employ to overcome any challenges they confront as well as the opportunities available to them. The book examines how gender interacts with political party, race and ethnicity, seniority, chamber, and district characteristics to shape women's representational influence and behavior, finding that party and race/ethnicity are the two most complicating factors to a singular narrative of women's congressional representation. While congresswomen's perspectives, experiences, and influence are neither uniform nor interchangeable, they strongly believe their presence matters in myriad ways, affecting congressional culture, priorities, processes, debates, and outcomes.

Gender and Elections

Gender and Elections
Author: Susan J. Carroll
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2013-12-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1107729246

The third edition of Gender and Elections offers a systematic, lively, and multifaceted account of the role of gender in the electoral process through the 2012 elections. This timely yet enduring volume strikes a balance between highlighting the most important developments for women as voters and candidates in the 2012 elections and providing a more long-term, in-depth analysis of the ways that gender has helped shape the contours and outcomes of electoral politics in the United States. Individual chapters demonstrate the importance of gender in understanding and interpreting presidential elections, presidential and vice-presidential candidacies, voter participation and turnout, voting choices, congressional elections, the political involvement of Latinas, the participation of African American women, the support of political parties and women's organizations, candidate communications with voters, and state elections. Without question, Gender and Elections is the most comprehensive, reliable, and trustworthy resource on the role of gender in US electoral politics.

The Firsts

The Firsts
Author: Jennifer Steinhauer
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2020-03-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1643750216

“An intimately told story, with detailed and thought-provoking portraits.” —The New York Times Book Review “The Firsts stands out as one of the most important and best reported books written during the extraordinary political chapter in which we are living.” —Nicolle Wallace, author and anchor, Deadline: White House on MSNBC NOW WITH UPDATED EPILOGUE In the November 2018 midterms, the greatest number of women in history were elected to Congress. It was a group diverse in background, age, experience, and ideology. From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and “the Squad” to a group with national security backgrounds calling themselves “the Badasses,” from the first two Native American women to the first two Muslim women, all were swept into office on a wave of grassroots support. Here, New York Times reporter Jennifer Steinhauer chronicles these women’s first year in Congress, following their shift from trailblazing campaigns to the daily work of governance. In committee rooms, offices, visits back home with their constituents, and conversations in the halls of the Capitol, she probes the question: Will Washington, with its hidebound traditions and overpriced housing and petty power struggles, change the changemakers? Or will this Congress, which looks a little more like today’s America, truly be the start of something new? Vivid and smart, The Firsts delivers fresh details, inside access, historical perspective, and expert analysis as these women—inspiring, controversial, talented, and rebellious—do something surprising: make Congress essential again.

Women in the Club

Women in the Club
Author: Michele L. Swers
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 022602296X

In the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, Democrats and Republicans were locked in a fierce battle for the female vote. Democrats charged Republicans with waging a “war on women,” while Republicans countered that Democratic policies actually undermined women’s rights. The women of the Senate wielded particular power, planning press conferences, appearing on political programs, and taking to the Senate floor over gender-related issues such as workplace equality and reproductive rights. The first book to examine the impact of gender differences in the Senate, Women in the Club is an eye-opening exploration of how women are influencing policy and politics in this erstwhile male bastion of power. Gender, Michele L. Swers shows, is a fundamental factor for women in the Senate, interacting with both party affiliation and individual ideology to shape priorities on policy. Women, for example, are more active proponents of social welfare and women’s rights. But the effects of gender extend beyond mere policy preferences. Senators also develop their priorities with an eye to managing voter expectations about their expertise and advancing their party’s position on a given issue. The election of women in increasing numbers has also coincided with the evolution of the Senate as a highly partisan institution. The stark differences between the parties on issues pertaining to gender have meant that Democratic and Republican senators often assume very different roles as they reconcile their policy views on gender issues with the desire to act as members of partisan teams championing or defending their party’s record in an effort to reach various groups of voters.

The Difference Women Make

The Difference Women Make
Author: Michele L. Swers
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2002-09-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0226786498

What if there were more women in Congress? Providing the first comprehensive study of the policy activity of male and female legislators at the federal level, Michele L. Swers persuasively demonstrates that, even though representatives often vote a party line, their gender is politically significant and does indeed influence policy making. Swers combines quantitative analyses of bills with interviews with legislators and their staff to compare legislative activity on women's issues by male and female members of the House of Representatives during the 103rd (1993-94) and 104th (1995-96) Congresses. Tracking representatives' commitment to women's issues throughout the legislative process, from the introduction of bills through committee consideration to final floor votes, Swers examines how the prevailing political context and members' positions within Congress affect whether and how aggressively they pursue women's issues. Anyone studying congressional behavior, the role of women, or the representation of social identities in Congress will benefit from Swers's balanced and nuanced analysis.

Women and Politics

Women and Politics
Author: Julie Dolan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2021-08-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1538154331

Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence examines the role of women in politics from the early women's movements to the female politicians in power today. The revised fourth edition includes: a new preface analyzing the 2020 elections, focusing on the historic victory of Kamala Harris and the gendered and racist critiques she endured on the campaign trail. recognition of the centennial of women's suffrage, with greater attention to Black and Indigenous women's often overlooked contributions to the fight for suffrage and expanded rights election results from the historic 2020 elections when more women filed congressional candidacies than ever before and women’s numbers in both Congress and state legislatures reached record highs. analysis of the gender gap in voting in 2020, focusing on both race and gender. updates reflecting President Biden's historic cabinet picks, including Deb Haaland as the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior and Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. coverage of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination and confirmation of her replacement, Amy Coney Barrett.

A Woman's Place Is in the House

A Woman's Place Is in the House
Author: Barbara Burrell
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 1996-01-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780472083848

DIVStudy of women candidates for U.S. House that argues women are successful in winning elections /div

Gendering the GOP

Gendering the GOP
Author: Catherine N. Wineinger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2022
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 019755654X

This book, one of the first to focus exclusively on the experiences of Republican congresswomen, uncovers some of the gendered implications of congressional polarization. Looking beyond legislative behavior, Gendering the GOP: Intraparty Politics and Republican Women's Representation in Congress reveals changes over time in the way Republican congresswomen (1) claim to represent women and (2) work together to advance their own interests within the party. Through extensive interviews with women members of Congress and in-depth analyses of House floor speeches, the book details how women have both navigated and shaped existing gender dynamics within the House GOP conference. It demonstrates that Republican women in Congress are not merely gender-blind partisans. Rather, it complicates traditional understandings of the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation, showing how polarization and party competition have incentivized Republican women to organize around their partisan-gender identity--distinguishing themselves from both Democratic women and Republican men. Doing so has increased their visibility as party messengers, while simultaneously limiting their legislative power in the institution. This book shines light on the ongoing challenges Republican women face, the intricate gender dynamics they must learn to navigate in their party, and potential opportunities for change. -- Provided by publisher.