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The Chisholm Effect: Black Women in American Politics 2018
By Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D.
This update from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) and the Higher Heights Leadership Fund outlines the status of Black women in American politics at the start of 2018.
Black Women in American Politics: 2017 Status Update
By Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D.
This update highlights the key wins for women of color overall – and Black women in particular - in election 2016. The data demonstrate that, even with the gains Black women saw at some levels of office in 2016, there is more work to do to ensure that Black women’s representation in elected office reflects their presence in American society.
Voices. Votes. Leadership. The Status of Black Women in American Politics 2015
By the Center for American Women and Politics for Higher Heights Leadership Fund, 2015
Authored by Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D, Assistant Research Professor, Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University
This comprehensive report provides a historical outline of Black women’s struggle for political representation. It discusses the current landscape of political leadership for Black women across the country and across levels of office, their growing political influence, and the outlook for Black women's participation in the 2016 elections. It demonstrates the need for greater engagement, recruitment, and inclusion of Black women in politics and government.
The Status of Black Women in American Politics 2014
By the Center for American Women and Politics for Higher Heights Leadership Fund, 2014
Authored by Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D, Assistant Research Professor, Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University
This comprehensive report provides a historical outline of black women’s struggle for political representation and discusses the current landscape of political leadership for black women across the country as well as their growing political influence. It demonstrates the need for greater engagement, recruitment, and inclusion of black women in politics and government.
Entering the Mayor’s Office: Women’s Decisions to Run for Municipal Office
by Susan J. Carroll and Kira Sanbonmatsu
Paper presented at the 2010 Midwest Political Science Association annual meeting
This paper investigates the routes that women take to the mayor’s office in big cities (with populations of 30,000 and above) using the 2008 CAWP Mayoral Recruitment Study. The authors investigate the backgrounds of women mayors and their decisions to seek municipal office for the first time.
CAWP Recruitment Studies Datasets
The 2008 Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) Recruitment Studies are studies of United States state legislators' and mayors' pathways to office that were conducted by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Data about state legislators and mayors of big cities were gathered through survey instruments that consisted primarily of questions concerning the decision to seek office, previous political experience, and personal background. The studies, which were conducted by mail, web, and phone, were designed to replicate a 1981 CAWP study about gender and pathways to elective office. All women serving in the legislatures of the 50 states were surveyed, along with a random sample of men state legislators; men were randomly selected and sampled in proportion to the number of women serving in each chamber and state. All women mayors of cities with a population of 30,000 and above serving in 2008 were surveyed, along with a random sample of men mayors. Demographic variables include age, education, race, and marital status.
The Impact of Women in Public Office
Edited by Susan J. Carroll
Indiana University Press, 2001, 256 pages
The studies in this book examine the impact of women public officials serving in various offices and locales at local, state, and national levels. Order from Amazon and a percentage of the sale goes to CAWP.
Gender and Policymaking: Studies of Women in Office
Ed. Debra L. Dodson
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1991, 133 pages
This collection of essays investigates the impact of elected and appointed women officeholders at the local, state, and national levels.
Women in Municipal Management: Choice, Challenge and Change
by Ruth Ann Burns with Lora L. Fong and Susan Fuhrman
1980, 210 pages
This report about research conducted under a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development identifies and documents the routes of opportunity, credentialing requirements, necessary skills, barriers, and support systems related to the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of women as municipal managers. It also examines the relationship between elected women and women administrators serving in the same communities.
Profile of Women Holding Office II
by Marilyn Johnson and Susan Carroll with Kathy Stanwick and Lynn Korenblit
Center for American Women and Politics, 1978, 71 pages
CAWP produced the first-ever directories of U.S. elected women, who were surveyed in 1975 and 1977. The directories included names, addresses and background data. Each directory included a statistical essay, also published as stand-alone documents, examining the numbers, personal characteristics, political backgrounds, issue orientations, and ambitions of women in federal, state, county, and local government as reported in the surveys.