Candidate Recruitment

Women in State Government: Historical Overview and Current Trends
by Susan J. Carroll
Chapter in The Book of the States, edited by The Council of State Governments, 2004
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.

Candidate Recruitment and Women's Election to the State Legislatures
by Kira Sanbonmatsu
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2003, 47 pages
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.

Women and American Politics: New Questions, New Directions
Edited by Susan J. Carroll
Oxford University Press, 2003, 262 pages
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.

Gender, Political Ambition, and the Initial Decision to Run for Office
by Richard L. Fox
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2003, 14 pages
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.

"Political Parties and the Recruitment of Women to State Legislatures"
by Kira Sanbonmatsu
Journal of Politics 2002, Volume 64 (August)
This article analyzes the role of political parties in shaping women's representation across the U.S. states.

Women and American Politics: A Research Agenda for the 21st Century
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1996, 29 pages
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.

Equality Deferred: Women Candidates for the New Jersey Assembly 1920-1993
by Richard P. and Katheryne McCormick
Center for American Women and Politics, 1994, 49 pages
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.

Women as Candidates in American Politics
by Susan J. Carroll
Indiana University Press, 1994, second edition, 264 pages
This book examines political parties' recruitment of women candidates, the factors that affect the outcomes of women's primary election campaigns, the future officeholding ambitions of women candidates, and women candidates' views on women's issues.

Political Women Tell What It Takes
by Kathy A. Stanwick
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
1983, 37 pages
This report focuses on the roles that political parties, women's organizations, and individual women have played in recruiting and supporting women candidates and appointees.

Women's Routes to Elective Office: A Comparison with Men's
Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1983, 223 pages
Based on data collected through surveys of women and men elected to state legislatures, county governing boards, and municipal offices, this report examines the factors which influence women's entry into elective offices. A major section focuses on black women's routes to elective office.