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.

Carroll and Sanbonmatsu find important gender differences in the initial decision to seek state legislative office. They find that women are more likely than men to seek office because they were encouraged to run and that family and organizational support play a larger role in women’s candidacy decisions than in men’s. 

Carroll and Sanbonmatsu compare the background characteristics and experiences of women and men state legislators over time using data from the 2008 and 1981 CAWP Recruitment Studies. 

Do men and women take similar or different paths to public office? This paper examines the occupational and educational backgrounds, family situations, and prior political experiences of women state legislators and their male counterparts. 

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.

A summary report on the information from the Impact of Women in Public Office series. 

This report highlights and summarizes selected findings from CAWP's study of women state legislators and from the eleven CAWP-sponsored studies of women officeholders' impact conducted by individual scholars. 

This collection of essays investigates the impact of elected and appointed women officeholders at the local, state, and national levels.

This report examines gender differences among state legislators in their policy views, actions, and perspectives on the legislative process. 

In 2001, CAWP surveyed female and male state legislators and compared the new data with prior CAWP research findings. The initial brief research reports include descriptions of women legislators today and comparisons with their male colleagues as well as with their 1988 counterparts.