Thoughts on the Midterm Elections? National? State Outcomes? Behavioral Hypotheses
• Will encourage legislators to consider broader interests than just the district, less moved by clamoring interest groups, more by conscience • Legislators will specialize to enact policy agenda before time is up
• intensify individualism, as members seek to gain more exposure for higher office Behavioral Hypothesis
• Professionalization • Specialization/experts? • Long game • Relationships with other party
• Term Limits • Spend time in office? • Long term plan? • Musical Chairs of progressive ambition Institutional Hypotheses
• Leadership • Impact on Legislation • Impact on Committees • Balance of power between House and Senate • Lobbyists • Oversight of Executive Agencies • Relations with Governor
Summary of Effects
• Compositional • No effect on who is elected • Loss of experienced legislators • Behavioral • Less knowledge of substantive issues • Less institutional knowledge • More chaotic legislatures • Less attention to constituents • Institutional • Senates have more experience • Governors gained power State Political Institutions
• dramatic improvement • significant variation among states • renewed questions about the consequences for politics and policy for reformers • how institutions shape political outcomes • thinking like a social scientist- emphasis on research design! #1 Hot Take on Midterm Elections
100+ women in the House, 22+ Senate Does it matter? Pros and Cons of Descriptive Representation vs Substantive Representation
YES/Benefits NO/Costs • Better communication • Having such a relation of identity • Problem of uncrystallized or similarity with constituents interests says nothing about what the representative does“ • Increased legitimacy • which groups are to be represented? (lefthanded, women, plumbers, morons) • Problem of essentialism State Political Institutions
• dramatic improvement • significant variation among states • renewed questions about the consequences for politics and policy • how institutions shape political outcomes • thinking like a social scientist- emphasis on research design! Dramatic Improvement Significant Variation
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-state-legislature-2018 Renewed questions about the consequences
http://www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/womens-legislative-network/women-in-state-legislatures-for-2018.aspx
1991 Rutgers, Center on Women in Politics
Why?
• Is it gender or ..... • Life experiences? • Occupation? • Child rearing? • Politics? • who runs? • district • party Does Gender Feminism? Alternative Explanation
• Are there any bills you have worked on in this session intended to help women in particular? Critical Mass Theory
Critical Mass Theory Implications
Implications of Women as Legislators Critical Mass Theory- Rosabeth Kanter
• Tokenism Behavior • Evaluated as symbol of all women • Don’t want to draw negative attention, fit in with boys • Minimize differences, keep low profile St German, Does a Difference Make a Difference
• Research Design- • why longitudinal 1969-1986 • Why single state AZ? • Introduce Women’s Bills (Table 1, 961) • Abortion, children, education, family, health, sex, and welfare were characterized as traditional women’s interests. (only coded for subject matter) • feminists bills are coded as gaining equality of improving the status of women. (based on policy goal of bill)
• as # of women in legislature increase, female legislators introduce • More bills • More bills addressing women’s issues, • ONCE > 15%, 35% OF all bills women introduce are affecting women’s issues, compared to about 25% for men. • Critical Mass matters Limits of Research Design
• AZ – generalizable to other states • Coding of women’s bills by title -> Child care bill = 1, nothing on content • Significance of bills • Why are women more successful Bratton, Critical Mass Revisited
• IL, CA, MD • Bill introduction • Bill passage
• Standing out is a good thing Swers, Understanding the Policy Impact of Electing Women • Difference • Policy views • Commitment to feminist views • Represent women • Institutional limits • Leadership • Critical mass • Leadership style Key Issues about do Women Make a Difference
• Tipping point/critical mass • Gender vs. Party • Women’s vs feminist issue vs. what’s a women’s issue and intersectionality? • Uncrystallized interests • What difference matters- legislation or outputs or representation • Necessary conditions • Leaders, coalition building, supportive interest groups, state liberalism Alternative Research Design- Do Women Make a Difference • Single state versus Multiple states • Longitudinal vs cross sectional • Case selection- which states (ideology, party, # of women, or other) • Best case? Most unlikely case? • Comparison • Dep variable • # of bills, significant legislation • Feminist or women’s laws • Legislature or Courts/Governors Speaker of Assembly (6) President of Senate (13) • Toni Atkins (D-CA) • Crisanta Duran (D-CO) Anitere Flores (R-FL) Linda L. Upmeyer (R-IA) Michelle Kidani (D-HI) Susan Wagle (R-KS) Sara Gideon (D-ME) Karen Spilka (D-MA) Tina Kotek (D-OR) Harriette Chandler (D-MA) Tonya Schuitmaker (R-MI) Beth Harwell (R-TN) Michelle L. Fischbach (R-MN) Mitzi Johnson (D-VT) Sharon Carson (R-NH) M. Teresa Ruiz (D-NJ) Mary Kay Papen (D-NM) Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-OR) Karen Keiser (D-WA) Donna J. Boley (R-WV) • Pay Equity Law /Gender Pay Gap • Child support/Family Law
• Reproductive rights/birth control
WOMEN'S LEGISLATIVE NETWORK OF Every issue is a women’s issue NCSL • Women want to ensure that our children have • Women’s health- Policymakers are often access to a quality education and that every parent has the right to decide what is best for his or her forced to view women's health by issue child. area such as breast cancer, chronic disease or pregnancy. A better way to • Women, especially the struggling, want affordable understand women's health involves and reliable energy resouporces. looking at a woman's life • Women want an environment that fosters job comprehensively. growth and opportunity for the next generation. • Women want access to affordable healthcare. • women's financial stability. • Women want an efficient, accountable and • women serving in the military, female effective government that understands its proper veterans, and the unique circumstances limits and doesn’t pretend to know what’s best for of military families. everyone. • Feminist Issues- abortion, reproductive • ALEC, https://www.alec.org/article/all-issues-are- womens-issues/ rights