Women in Congress 1

Running Head: WOMEN IN CONGRESS

The Impact of Women on the Operation and Policy Initiatives of the United States Congress

Mary A. Kardos

Glen Allen High School

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The first woman to serve in Congress was Jeannette Rankin of Montana in 1916, four

short years before all American women had the right to vote. Not long after, Alice Mary

Robinson of Oklahoma was the first woman to beat a male incumbent congressman in 1920

(Desilver, 2015). The first-ever woman Senator, Rebecca Latimer of Georgia, served for only

one day to fill the seat of her recently deceased husband (Desilver 2015). Over time, women’s

rise to power in the United States Congress has been slow yet steady. Women have been filling

seats in the Capitol since the early twentieth century, although most women were not elected

until the early 1990s to the 2000s. In 2015, of the 278 women who had served in the House of

Representatives, more than half had been elected after 1992 (Desilver, 2015). Likewise, 23 of the

46 women ever elected to the Senate took office in 1996 or later (Desilver 2015). While women

currently make up half of the American population, they only combine to be roughly 19.4% of

the United States Congress and 24.2% of state legislatures (Sanbonmatsu 2015). Even with this

representation, men still outnumber women four to one (Kliff, 2017). The United States is on the

path towards equal representation, yet it still ranks number 102 on the global list of gender parity

in federal legislatures (2018). Countries such as Afghanistan, Spain, France, Mexico,

Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia have higher female representation in their legislatures than in the

United States of America (2018). Although it may appear seemingly impossible, as of 2016,

there were still thirteen states that had never sent a woman to the United States Congress, some

of those states including Mississippi and Vermont (Miller, 2016). Females have the largest share

of national and state elected office positions than ever before, but the share of women in major

political positions is disproportionately low compared to other professions. While women make

up approximately 96.8% of preschool and kindergarten teachers, 70.1% of waiters, and 89.4% of
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registered nurses in America, they only amount to approximately 12% of governors (Kurtzleben

2016). This disproportion of women precipitates a lack of variety when governing. Although

historically underrepresented, women serving in the United States Congress positively affect the

operation and effectiveness of the legislature as a whole. Women’s mere presence brings new

perspectives, priorities, and mindsets to light, while fighting not just for their own constituents,

but for those who are too often ignored in the face of policy making.

How Women Govern

The way women govern greatly differs from men, as women in Congress tend to be more

willing to work across party lines, be collaborative, and endure challenging situations with a

goal-oriented mindset (Dittmar, Sanbonmatsu, Carroll, Walsh, & Wineinger 2017). In a 2017

collection of congressional interviews, a majority of women interviewed believed that females

are more likely than their male counterparts to work across party lines and be bipartisan (Dittmar

et al., 2017). In one study, the National Bureau of Economic Research focused on how gender

affects bipartisanship, and it concluded women are more likely than men to cooperate through

bipartisanship particularly if working on a bill that focuses on health, education, or social welfare

(McGill, 2016). Over the past seven years, female Senators have co-sponsored, on average,

171.08 bills with a member of the opposite party, while that figure for men is 129.87 bills (Gay,

2015). This revelation does not mean women are innately less partisan than men -- it simply

means women are more inclined to listen, attempt to understand the opposing side, and practice

collaboration. In addition, multiple studies from the Center for American Women in Politics

have found women in both the Senate and the House of Representatives tend to put stock in
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personal friendships and bonds more frequently than men in their same position (Newton-Small,

2016). A group of bipartisan women Senators have monthly dinner meetings, where they often

forge friendships before deals (Newton-Small, 2016). The compassion and empathy naturally

produced by these bonds makes it increasingly easier to strike a deal when meeting over

legislation. Senator Patty Murray (2016) believes women humanize Congress:

I think the reality of [why friendships work] is if you focus on something that
makes people human beings...if you actually find a way to be friendly with each other
and understand where they are coming from, that’s how you get an agreement. I think
women can do that.

After Susan Collins took the Senate floor in 2013 and expressed her frustration with the

government shutdown, the first Senators to call her were women: Senators Kelly Ayotte, Lisa

Murkowski, and Amy Klobuchar (Miller, 2016). All of these women were willing to put down

their partisan blinders and work together to find a solution to end the shutdown. Women in the

Senate are known for collaborative relationships, and Senator Patty Murray and Speaker Paul

Ryan’s relationship is case in point. When Representative Paul Ryan was first elected Speaker,

Senator Murray set up a breakfast meeting that would inevitably forge a friendship that would

achieve the country’s first budget agreement in four years during an infamously gridlocked

congressional session (Newton-Small, 2016). Their relationship continues to grow stronger and

stronger, always helping the two come to agreements much faster and more efficiently. This is

not a one-sided relationship either. Six years later, Paul Ryan remains to be very keen of Murray,

and the two have remained friends outside of the chambers -- giving each other gifts from their

home state and having friendly banter regarding their rivaled sports teams -- a feat in today’s

political climate. Senator Murray attempted to first befriend Representative Ryan on a personal
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level rather than for political leverage, which, as observations have concurred, is a traditionally

female trait (Newton-Small, 2016). When a friendship is established, politicians are more likely

to compromise and find common ground when governing, initiating more powerful end results.

In the 2017 interviews, women serving in the US Congress also believed women are more

results-oriented. Overall, women are more concerned with achieving policy outcomes rather than

receiving publicity or credit (Dittmar et al., 2017). In a 2001 survey of American females

serving in Congress, the number one reason they ran for office was “the ability to effect change

in society” (2001). For males, that reason was because “they always wanted to be a politician.” It

could be assumed women’s outcome over publicity mindset could cause them to be less

successful in the field, but by often refusing to grandstand, women tend to gain more support

from their constituents (Newton-Small, 2016). When women are included in policy making,

there is a higher chance more policy will be passed. A woman legislator, on average, passed

twice as many bills as a male legislator in a recent session (Kliff, 2017). It is probable this result

is not caused directly by one facet, rather a combination of traits that allow the governing setting

to be perhaps more advantageous for women.

Different Strengths

Over time, research has found men and women have inherently different strengths in

leadership. Therefore, relying on just one gender to govern or lead can provoke an imbalance of

perspective and ideas. A 2007 study found, compared to males, women’s brains favor more

emotional activity rather than rational activity (Eagly & Carli, 2007). In a male dominated

setting, such as in congressional sessions, elected officials should have the benefit of reviewing
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all effects of certain legislation before voting on it. With a lack of a woman’s perspective, which

would theoretically explore the more personal, emotional facets of said legislation, judgements

could be made that would otherwise have been different if realizations from a variety of

perspectives had been heard (Shambaugh, 2016). While men view legislation and policy more

pragmatically, the combination of emotional and commonsensical thinking would ultimately lead

to the most thoughtful and calculated result. Moreover, women tend to absorb more information

through their senses and store more of it in their brain, allowing them to have more interest in

and remember more specific details (Shambaugh, 2016). The absence of a large of amount of

women in the United States legislature is leaving a void for improvement that could easily be

filled by the election of more women Senators and Representatives. As studies have shown

women remember more details than the average man, a woman serving in Congress could make

up for a male’s possible lapse in specifics in a place where detail proves to be incredibly crucial.

More Likely to Delegate

Women and men of the United States Senate have coined a term to describe women’s

governing style: PTA legislating. This type of legislating is a “high-effort, consensus-building”

tactic that helps women tackle large, divisive issues more effectively than men, according to one

Vanderbilt University study (Newton-Small, 2016). When women propose, sponsor, or

cosponsor a bill, they are more likely to delegate the tasks at hand. This practice is recognized by

previous Senator Blanche Lincoln, who observed “women are more likely to say, ‘I can’t do all

this, but what if I take this and you take that and so-and-so takes another piece,’” which more

often than not proves to be effective when aiming to pass legislation or receive funding
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(Newton-Small, 2016). This tactic was used by Senator Stabenow to effectively get a one trillion

dollar farm bill through the Senate (Newton-Small, 2016). In addition, Senator Boxer used “PTA

legislating” to successfully authorize three-hundred billion dollars for transportation

infrastructure (Newton-Small, 2016). Delegating hard tasks allows for more perspectives to be

heard and a faster end result-- further highlighting the efficacy of women’s governing style.

Women’s Successes in Congress

Congresswomen secure roughly nine percent more federal funding and discretionary

programs in comparison to congressmen (Anzia & Berry, 2011). That nine percent is roughly

equivalent to about $88 per capita per year in the average congressional district (Anzia & Berry

2011). In total, it is expected a district receives about $49 million more dollars in funding if their

representative is a woman (Anzia & Berry, 2011). Moreover, when comparing rates of change in

the federal spending received by a district before and after it elects a female representative, it

was found the rate of increase in spending was higher ​after ​a woman was elected (Anzia &

Berry, 2011). Whether this is a direct correlation to women’s leadership and delegation tactics

remains inconclusive due to the variety of situations that occur in the chambers every day during

session; although, besides governing style, there is very little substantive difference between

male and female legislators. Therefore, governing style could be a probable cause as to why

women receive more funding for their districts or states. For example, in 2012, Senator Boxer

saw through $12.5 billion dollars for a water resources bill and $54 billion dollars in a

transportation bill, Senator Stabenow got a $995 billion dollar farm bill passed, and Senator

Mikulski shepherded more than 12 appropriations bills (Newton-Small, 2016). In addition to

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receiving money for their districts, passing key legislation is crucial to delivering to their

constituents back home. Just in the year 2012, women helped produce 75% of major legislation

that passed in the Senate, including the Violence Against Women Act, for which all twenty

women came together to ensure its passage. Women’s representation in Congress has had a large

effect on legislation passed due to their ability to increasingly secure funding for the constituents

they are serving. In 2013, the Senate could not pass a budget to end a government shutdown, so a

bipartisan group of fourteen senators, led by six women, banded together and ended the

shutdown. The next news cycle prided women on this accomplishment, and some of the

headlines read “Senate Women Lead in Effort to Find Accord,” “Men Got Us in the Shutdown --

Women Got Us Out,” and “Women are the Only Adults Left in Washington” (Newton-Small,

2016).

Proposed Legislation

Men and women typically make different choices about what legislation to bring to the

table. In 1988, Sue Thomas found that women are more likely to make bills dealing with

women’s issues, children, and family a priority (Sanbonmatsu, 2015). In general, liberal female

legislators sponsored or cosponsored 10.6 bills related to women’s health, an average of 5.3

more than their liberal male colleagues (Kliff, 2017). Moreover, throughout recent years, women

fought for women’s health coverage in the Affordable Care Act, strongly pushed for sexual

harassment rules in the military, and debated for child care vouchers in the welfare overhaul

(Miller, 2016). Because the perspectives and backgrounds of women vary from men’s-- many

women in Congress are mothers -- different issues tend to be of more or less importance to
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certain lawmakers. Elizabeth Esty, a representative from New York (2017), describes this

phenomenon:

A lot of the legislative initiatives [that] were passed in previous Congresses -- for
example, making sure that there are research dollars focused on women’s health -- has
been a priority of female members on both sides of the aisle. I think it’s been helpful to
educate our male colleagues about the different perspectives we may bring.

This holds true in the darkest of circumstances, as shown by both the 103rd and 104th

Congresses, both starkly different in gender representation. Michele Swers found that all women,

despite party, were more likely to sponsor women’s issues bills in both Congresses, despite the

loss of female representation from the 103rd to the 104th Congress (Sanbonmatsu, 2015). In past

years, women have proposed a number of the high stakes bills regarding women’s rights. Senator

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, proposed both the Women, Peace, and

Security Act of 2017 and the Keeping Girls in School Act, both championing women’s rights in

the Senate (2018). Additionally, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act was

proposed by Senator Susan Collins, a Republican Senator from Maine, to establish a

Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C. for the “collection, study, and establishment of

programs related to women’s contributions that have influenced the direction of the United

States” (2018). The attempts by women legislators to fill the void between majority and

minority groups in American society does not go unnoticed. When one legislature was surveyed,

69% of women and 62% of men said the increased presence of women in their chamber made

the legislature more sympathetic to the concerns of racial and ethnic minority groups (2001). In

more recent years, women have been more likely to introduce the resolutions honoring minorities

and disadvantaged groups. In 2017, Senators Gillibrand, Feinstein, and Harris proposed

resolutions honoring women, celebrating African Americans, and condemning forms of racism
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against minorities (2018). Both men and women believe women legislators have increased

legislative attention to how bills will affect women through floor speeches and representation in

closed door meetings and debates (Sanbonmatsu, 2015). Women in these elected positions see it

as their duty to represent these groups of people, especially young women, as explained by

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York:

You have to be aware that you’re a role model for women, and that’s something that I’ve
taken to heart. And I’m constantly meeting with young women who reach out to our
office, whether they’re from the district or they get in contact from across the country, to
encourage them to step up to the plate and add their voice to the conversation.

In this way, women tend to be viewed as “surrogate representatives” for those who may not

receive that same kind of support from their representatives in Congress.

Women in Leadership Positions

In a national CAWP survey, 42% of women legislators disagreed with the statement

“most men in my legislature are supportive of moving women into leadership positions”

(Sanbonmatsu, 2015). Despite this, a 2001 study from the Center for American Women in

Politics found that women state legislators are equally as likely as their male colleagues to aspire

to high political office. Men are more likely to aspire to run in congressional elections, while

women are slightly more likely to aspire to run for higher level offices in presidential and

gubernatorial races (2001). In 2012, for the first time, women headed eleven out of the twenty

Senate Committees, making up more than half of the committees’ leadership (Newton-Small,

2016). Women and men who serve at the state level are equally likely to say they aspire the

highest position in their chamber -- Speaker of the House (2001). Leadership adds a strain of

credibility and power to women who are a minority in legislature. Women in leadership positions
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allow for a strong woman voice in the face of being a minority in the chamber, affecting greater

change in the realm of representation.

Constraints and Biases

Although the number of women in Congress has slowly grown over time, it has become

increasingly harder for women to be elected. Researchers Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox

determined there are seven main barriers to women running for office (Kurtzleben, 2016).

Consistently, Lawless and Fox discovered women are much less likely than men to think they are

qualified to run for office. Women’s political efficacy, or their belief they have a voice or

influence in their government, is significantly lower than males in their same position (2015).

While studies have found that women voters are more likely to know a Senator’s voting record if

the official is a woman, this fact does not always increase political efficacy due to of the low

number of women Senators currently serving in the United States Congress (Sanbonmatsu,

2015). In addition, Lawless and Fox found females are substantially more likely to perceive the

electoral environment as highly competitive and biased against female candidates (Kurtzleben,

2016). While this could stem from decades of misogynistic tension, it can also be deduced

Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin’s candadices aggravated women’s perceptions of gender bias in

the electoral arena (Kurtzleben, 2016). In addition to electoral constraints, there are also

institutional barriers created from hundreds of years of politics being a male dominated field. In

one survey, a majority of women Senators felt their presence or way of governing is not taken

seriously (2001). Because women often approach policy and problem solving differently,

women are kept out of caucuses and the “room where it happens.” For example, in 2007, a group
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of all male Senators met behind closed doors about a bill to reduce the deficit and decided to cut

Planned Parenthood without hearing any woman’s opinion, disallowing women the chance to

voice their stance on a major legislative choice (Newton-Small, 2016). While there are a

considerable amount of hindrances, women continue to persist and fight for their rightful seat in

their respective chamber. As Representative Susan Brooks (2015) eloquently stated: “I have

actually found there to be more opportunities than challenges, and I do believe that is because the

leadership in both parties recognizes that we need more women in Congress.”

The Future

As a result of the loss of 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, there are

more than twice as many women running for Congress in the upcoming 2018 election as there

were just two years ago in 2016 (Anapol, 2018). That reflects at least 431 female candidates who

are running or likely to run for office, compared to just 212 in February of 2016. Even almost

230 years after the creation of the United States Congress, women still fail to fill even one third

of the seats, let alone one half. 230 years of disenfranchisement, of silent voices, and unheard

requests have passed, but the tide could be changing. More and more women are realizing they

bring a new light to the perhaps darkened arena of contemporary American politics. Although,

this cannot be just a moment; it must be a movement. The decision is left up to the voters of

America to contemplate the true effect their vote has in every single election, especially when

electing a woman into the Capitol. In the coming years, both men ​and ​women should have an

equal voice at the table. The United States cannot let this moment pass.
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