Women Officeholders and the Role Models Who Pioneered the Way

By (author) Karen Owen

Publication date:

12 December 2016

Length of book:

186 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498529822

Recent electoral seasons in American politics demonstrate women’s keen interest, involvement, and influence as candidates and officeholders. Women possess political ambition, albeit in varying degrees, and as such, women seek opportunities to be politically engaged and affect America's representative institutions. This book analyzes why American women run for political office, and explores how political role models, identified as publicly elected officials and/or those who have served in the political arena, have greatly motivated women to run for higher political office, including seats in the U.S. Congress and state governorships.

Evidence from personal interviews with ten congresswomen and fifty-five female state legislators reveals the ambitious nature of female politicians, the encouragement of political factors in their decisions to advance in politics, and their perceived responsibility to be role models to other women. Moreover, in studying thirty-five years of elections data, I find substantial support for how female political role models influence female state legislators’ candidacies and electoral outcomes to higher office. This work highlights the importance of women as symbolic representatives; female politicians are instrumental in emboldening a new generation of women to engage in politics. Role models in politics indeed have a purpose and an influential nature.

List of Tables
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Women’s Ascension into American Politics
Chapter 2: Defining the Who and What that Emboldens the Ascension of Women to Higher Political Office
Chapter 3: Deciding to Run for Higher Office: Females’ Perspectives On Their Political Journeys
Chapter 4: Determinants of Women’s Ascension to the U.S. House of Representatives
Chapter 5: Climbing Higher: Women’s Ascension to the U.S. Senate
Chapter 6: Moving Across the Capitol: Women’s Ascension to State Governorships
Chapter7: Female Politicians: Role Models Advancing Their Gender’s Representation
Appendix A: Interview Schedule for Female Politicians
Appendix B: State Legislators’ Emergence to the U.S. House of Representatives and State Governorships
Appendix C: Female Political Role Models
References
About the Author

Owen explores a critical but ignored aspect of efforts to increase the ranks of women officeholders. Using interviews and statistical models Owen details the role of mentorship in helping women successfully run for Congress and governorships.