Political Parties

Addressing varied aspects of women’s engagement with political parties as candidates, officeholders and voters. 

  • Candidates Matter: Gender Differences in Election 2016

    by Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D.

    We looked at gender and party differences in candidate numbers and success in election 2016 to better understand why women made so little progress in representation. Our data demonstrates, consistent with research to date, that there appears to be no consistent gender disparity in candidate win rates; the real gender disparities exist in the proportions of women and men running at each phase of the electoral process. These conclusions are consistent across party, though the dearth of women candidates is particularly acute in the Republican party. 

    Fact Sheet
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    A Closer Look
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Candidate Recruitment
    Gender and Race/Ethnicity
    State Legislature
    Statewide Executive
    Congress
  • Women in the 115th Congress

    by Kelly Dittmar, Ph.D.

    In 2017, 104 (78D, 26R) women hold seats in the U.S. Congress, comprising 19.4% of the 535 members; 21 (16D, 5R) women (21%) serve in the U.S. Senate and 83 (62D, 21R) women (19.1%) serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

    Fact Sheet
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    A Closer Look
    Political Parties
    Gender and Race/Ethnicity
    Congress
  • Women’s Election to Office in the Fifty States: Opportunities and Challenges

    by Kira Sanbonmatsu
    Book chapter in Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics,
    Eds. Susan J. Carroll, CAWP, Rutgers University and Richard L. Fox, Union College, New York
    Cambridge University Press, 2013 Third Edition, pp. 265-287.

    Discussion of the barriers and opportunities women face in seeking state legislative and statewide executive office and the differences across states in women's officeholding. Party is a key factor in understanding women's candidacies and women's representation. 

    Book Chapter
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Candidate Recruitment
    State Legislature
    Statewide Executive
  • Preparedness Meets Opportunity: Women's Increased Representation in the New Jersey Legislature

    by Susan Carroll and Kelly Dittmar
    Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 
    July 2012, 40 pages

    This paper examines the factors that account for the rapid rise in the number of women legislators in New Jersey, focusing primarily on the time period from 2004 through 2011. Central to the analysis is the question of what it would take to bring about enduring change in a political system characterized by a strong, male-dominated party system like that found in New Jersey.

    Report
    New Jersey
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidate Recruitment
    State Legislature
  • Life's A Party: Do Political Parties Help or Hinder Women?

    by Kira Sanbonmatsu
    Harvard International Review, 2010

    Sanbonmatsu evaluates the role of political parties in electing women to office. She argues that the history of U.S. parties indicates that women’s organizations and movements, women leaders, and women voters are the keys to making political parties a help rather than a hindrance to women’s representation.

    Article
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Candidate Recruitment
  • Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics, 2nd Edition

    Eds. Susan J. Carroll, CAWP, Rutgers University and Richard L. Fox, Union College, New York
    Cambridge University Press, 2009 Second Edition, 314 pages 

    The 2nd edition of this textbook describes the role of gender in the American electoral process through the 2008 elections. Tailored for courses on women and politics, elections, and gender politics, it strikes a balance between highlighting the most important developments for women as voters and candidates in the 2008 elections and providing a deeper analysis of the ways that gender has helped shape electoral politics in the United States.  Individual chapters demonstrate the importance of gender in understanding presidential elections, voter participation and turnout, voting choices, the participation of African American women

    Book
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Gender and Race/Ethnicity
    Women Voters and the Gender Gap
    State Legislature
    Statewide Executive
    Congress
    Federal Executive
  • Gender Backlash in American Politics?

    by Kira Sanbonmatsu
    Politics and Gender (September 2006) 

    The author introduces the idea of a backlash against women's representation, proposes several preliminary hypotheses about a backlash, and discusses ways of testing them.

    Article
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    State Legislature
  • Do Parties Know that ‘Women Win’? Party Leader Beliefs about Women’s Electoral Chances

    by Kira Sanbonmatsu
    Politics & Gender 2006 (December)

    In an analysis of state legislative election results, the author finds few gender differences in candidates' vote share and success rates—two widely used measures of the status of women candidates. Yet many party leaders report that one gender has an electoral advantage. These party leader perceptions are related to the objective measures of women's electoral success to some extent. However, most analyses reveal a gap between elite perceptions and objective measures of women's status as candidates. This disjuncture suggests that scholars may have overestimated the extent of party leader and voter support for women. 

    Article
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
  • Where Women Run: Gender and Party in the American States

    by Kira Sanbonmatsu 
    University of Michigan Press, 2006, 264 pages

    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. 

    Book
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Candidate Recruitment
  • Gender and Elections: Shaping the Future of American Politics, 1st Edition

    Eds. Susan J. Carroll, CAWP, Rutgers University and Richard L. Fox, Union College, New York
    Cambridge University Press, 2005 First Edition, 240 pages 

    Gender and Elections offers a systematic, lively, multi-faceted account of the role of gender in the electoral process through the 2004 elections. This volume strikes a balance between highlighting the most important developments for women as voters and candidates in the 2004 elections and providing a more long-term, in-depth analysis of the ways that gender has helped shape the contours and outcomes of electoral politics in the United States. Individual chapters demonstrate the importance of gender in understanding and interpreting presidential elections, voter participation and turnout, voting choices, congressional elections, the

    Book
    Research
    CAWP Scholar
    Political Parties
    Candidates and Campaigns
    Gender and Race/Ethnicity
    Women Voters and the Gender Gap
    State Legislature
    Statewide Executive
    Congress
    Federal Executive