Candidate Recruitment

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

The “social eligibility pool” stands as one of the most common, and most powerful, explanations for women's underrepresentation in elective office. In this article, Sanbonmatsu revisits the eligibility pool account of women's representation and argues that it has significant shortcomings as a causal explanation. She proposes that scholars direct their attention to how changes occur in beliefs about the types of backgrounds that are thought to be desirable in politicians—the “informal qualifications” for public office. She suggests that scholars work to identify the conditions under which women can take a “women's path” to the legislature from

Drawing on surveys and case studies of party leaders and legislators in six states, the author analyzes the links between parties and representation, exposing the mechanism by which parties’ informal recruitment practices shape who runs – or doesn’t run – for political office in the United States. 

Women have significantly increased their numbers among state government officials over the past several decades. However, despite a recent increase in the number of women governors, women’s progress, especially at the statewide elective and state legislative levels, has slowed. The future for women in state government would seem to depend, at least in part, upon the strength of efforts to actively recruit women for elective and appointive positions.

This report points out that where women run is a critical but overlooked question in studies on women’s successes in running for office. The report finds that candidate emergence and recruitment differs across states. To varying degrees, party recruitment, beliefs about women’s electability, interest groups, and the presence of women legislators, women leaders, and women’s organizations in a state all play a role in the likelihood of a woman running for the legislature.

This volume presents a research agenda, developed by leading scholars of American politics, suggesting directions that could fruitfully shape the study of women and American politics in the early twenty-first century. Contributors suggest approaches, methods, and topics for future research on political recruitment, campaign strategy, money, political leadership, parties and women's organizations, the gender gap in voting and public opinion, media, women of color, and participation outside of conventional electoral politics.

Funding for this report was provided by the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University. The report sheds light on how women and men think about running for office and the manner in which their attitudes will affect the future prospects of gender parity in U.S. governing bodies. Fox concentrates his research on factors such as age, party affiliation, personal income, external support, and notoriety.

This article analyzes the role of political parties in shaping women's representation across the U.S. states. 

In April 1994, CAWP convened a group of 79 scholars, researchers, political practitioners, and activists to help identify existing gaps in our knowledge, discuss the reasons for the gaps, and imagine the kinds of research projects needed to address unanswered questions in our understanding of women's political behavior.

This report explores the history of women's candidacies for the New Jersey Assembly and analyzes some of the reasons for the status of women as office-seekers in the state.