Feminist literature often discusses the importance of descriptive representation of
women to facilitate democracy. This perspective contends that legislatures largely
dominated by men numerically and procedurally, do not provide for the needs of women.
Women’s presence in legislatures offers them an opportunity to raise concerns unique to
women and to pose alternative perspectives, both on issues traditionally associated with
women, and in non-traditional areas that impact women and men differently like tax
policy and foreign aid. The vital role of women in elected office is further substantiated
by research that finds the representation of women’s “interests” requires a greater
inclusion of women leaders in public office. Moreover, token representation is
insufficient; many researchers argue that women will impact the political agenda,
political culture and public policy only upon reaching critical mass in the political arena.
Currently, a record number of women serve in elected office at the state and national
levels. In 2005, 25.5 percent of state elective executive office holders, 22.6 percent of
state legislators were women, and 29.7 percent of top appointed policymakers in the
states were women (Center for Women in Government and Civil Society 2006).
Concomitantly, Republicans have made significant gains in representation in state
legislatures, resulting in an increasing ideological gap between Democratic and
Republican women as Republican women in state houses are increasingly conservative.
As the ideological composition of women policymakers changes, research
focusing on the representation of ‘women’s issues’ must be attentive to the changing
definitions of women’s issues and women serving in office generally. For example, there
is evidence that in states with higher percentages of women, legislatures are more
attentive to women’s health issues. However, these studies typically include abortion
policy as a prominent “woman’s health issue.” The emphasis on abortion is problematic
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Convention