Women Transforming Politics

Contains over thirty essays which explore the complex contexts of political engagement--family and intimate relationships, friendships, neighborhood, community, work environment, race, religious, and other cultural groupings--that structure perceptions of women's opportunities for political participation.

From the first to one of the most recent--Jeannette Rankin (Montana, 1916) to Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York, 2001)--only two hundred women have ever served in the U.S. Congress. Have these relatively few women changed the predominantly masculine institution in which they serve? Have women as voters, activists, staff, and members made a difference? Edited by Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Women Transforming Congress examines the increasing influence of women on Congress and the ways in which gender defines and shapes Congress as a political institution. Written by women in politics and leading scholars on Congress, the essays in this volume go beyond the limitations of prior research through their diverse analytical approaches and singular historical breadth. The volume follows women on the campaign trail, in committee rooms, in floor debate, and in policy deliberations where previously the focus was on men’s interests and activities. A gallery of photographs showing notable women from their earliest years of involvement with Congress to the present complements the essays.

The 1992 American election saw more women running for office, at both local and national level, than ever before. The number of women elected increased by 50% in the House of Representatives and by a staggering 300% in the Senate. This book describes these key races, revealing the underlying tales of voter and institutional reactions to the women candidates and highlights the unprecedented levels of support garnered on their behalf.

This book provides the first in-depth look at male and female elected officials of color using survey and other empirical data.

'Other Kinds of Dreams' provides an invaluable insight into the political activity of black and Asian women in the UK both inside and outside the black and Asian communities. The book breaks new ground by: * destroying the misconception that black and Asian women lack political involvement * integrating gender into the study of black and Asian political participation in Britain * exploring the potential for alliances between black women and the new progressive 'black man's movement' * examining black women activists' perception and experiences of white feminism. 'Other Kinds of Dreams also questions the homogeneity of the term 'black' and asks whether increasing social stratification within black communities undermines this unity.

This book analyzes how the media covers women leaders and reinforces gendered evaluations of their candidacies and performance. It deals with current transformations in political communication that may change the nature and scope of leadership in contemporary democracies with implications for relations between female leaders, media and citizens.

Since the 1960's, academic and activist women have been challenging the conventional wisdom about political life and the study of politics. Organizing her book by standard political concepts-the mobilization and participation of the mass public; the recruitment, policy preferences, and political style of public officials; agenda-setting; and coalition-building-Janet Flammang subjects these concepts to a withering feminist critique based on the insights of feminist theory and the empirical evidence of hundreds of studies of women's distinctive politics.This book accomplishes four major tasks:It provides a comprehensive critical history of the changing research on politics and the changing nature of the political science discipline.It analyzes the course of women's political activism in the United States.It develops a rich case study of women's politics in Northern California's Silicon Valley, an area once nicknamed "the feminist capital of the nation."It examines coalitions and divisions within the women's movement with sensitivity to minority politics, as in the chapter subtitled, "The Hard Work of Sisterhood.">p>Women's Political Voice records the transformative politics of the women's movement and, simultaneously, urges political scientists to ask new questions and to adopt new methods. Author note: Janet A. Flammang is Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and Associate Professor of Political Science at Santa Clara University. She is the author or editor of two previous texts on U.S. politics.