Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T01:40:48.944Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

INTERSECTING INTERESTS

Gender, Race, and Congressional Attention to Women’s Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2014

Michael D. Minta  and
Nadia E. Brown
Michael D. Minta
Affiliation:
Department of Black Studies and Department of Political Science, University of Missouri
Nadia E. Brown*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and African American Studies and Research Center, Purdue University
*
*Corresponding author: Nadia E. Brown, Department of Political Science and African American Studies and Research Center, Purdue University, Beering Hall, Room 2249 100 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite claims by normative theorists that gender diversity in Congress leads to better representation of women’s interests, the results of empirical studies have been largely mixed. While some scholars have found positive effects of gender diversity, others have found very little impact. We argue that it is not the presence of White and minority women alone that makes political institutions more responsive to women’s issues, but rather it is the organizational presence of minority men along with minority women who make similar claims for inclusion, power, and organizational formation to achieve those goals that matters. We examine to what extent gender and racial diversity have led to more attention to issues that directly and indirectly impact women. Using congressional hearings data from 1951–2004, we find that the increased presence of minority men and women legislators in the House, but less so in the Senate, is responsible for keeping women’s interests on the congressional agenda. We demonstrate how an intersectional and additive approach can add both theoretical and empirical value to the study of political representation by demonstrating the impact of women and minorities in Congress.

Keywords

RepresentationRaceGenderEthnicityIntersectionality
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , Fall 2014 , pp. 253 - 272
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baumgartner, Frank R. and Jones, Bryan D. (1993). Agendas and Instability in American Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Baca Zinn, Maxine and Dill, Bonnie Thornton (1996). Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism. Feminist Studies, 22(2): 321–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Edith J. (1995). The Policy Priorities of African American Women in State Legislatures. Lesgislative Studies Quarterly, 20(2): 223–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, Edith (2001). Black Women in State Legislatures: The Relationship of Race and Gender to the Legislative Experience. In Carroll, Susan (Ed.), The Impact of Women in State and Local Offices, pp. 185–204. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A. (2005). Critical Mass Theory Revisited: The Behavior and Success of Token Women in State Legislatures. Politics & Gender, 1: 97–125.Google Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A. and Haynie, Kerry L. (1999). Agenda Setting and Legislative Success in State Legislatures: The Effects of Gender and Race. Journal of Politics, 61: 658–679.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratton, Kathleen A., Haynie, Kerry L., and Reingold, Beth (2006). Agenda Setting and African American Women in State Legislatures. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 28 (Summer/Fall): 71–96Google Scholar
Brown, Nadia (2014). Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Nadia and Banks, Kira Hudson (2013). Black Women’s Agenda Setting in the Maryland State Legislature. Journal of African American Studies, 17(2): 1–17.Google Scholar
Brown-Dean, Khalilah (2007). Felon Disenfranchisement and the Breakdown of Black Politics. In Persons, Georgia A. (Ed.), The Expanding Boundaries of Black Politics, pp. 43–64. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Canon, David T. (1999). Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Casellas, Jason P. (2010). Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celis, Karen, Childs, Sarah, Kantola, Johanna, and Krook, Mona Lena (2008). Rethinking Women’s Substantive Representation. Representation, 44(2): 99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah and Krook, Mona Lena (2008). Critical Mass Theory and Women’s Political Representation. Political Studies, 56: 725–736.Google Scholar
Childs, Sarah and Krook, Mona Lena (2009). Analysing Women’s Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors. Government and Opposition, 44(2): 125–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clay, William L. (1993). Just Permanent Interests: Black Americans in Congress 1870–1992. New York: Amistad Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, Cathy J. (1999). The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–167.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6): 1241–1299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowley, Jocelyn E. (2004). When Tokens Matter. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 29: 109–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. (1994). Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Dodson, D. L. (1991). Reshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislatures: Impact of Women in Public Office. New Brunswick, NJ: Eagleton Institute of Politics, Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University.Google Scholar
Dodson, Debra (2001). Acting for Women: Is What Legislators Say, What they Do? In Carroll, Susan J. (Ed.), The Impact of Women in Public Office, pp. 225–242. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Dodson, Debra and Carroll, Susan (1991). Reshaping the Agenda: Women in State Legislatures. New Brunswick, NJ: Center for American Women and Politics.Google Scholar
Duerst-Lahti, Georgia (2002). Knowing Congress as a Gendered Institution. In Rosenthal, Cindy Simon (Ed.), Women Transforming Congress, pp. 20–48. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Ferber, M. E. (1971). The Formation of the Democratic Study Group. In Polsby, Nelson W. (Ed.), Congressional Behavior, pp. 249–269. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Fraga, , Luis Ricardo, Lopez, Linda, Martinez-Ebers, Valeria, and Ramirez, Ricardo (2006). Gender and Ethnicity: Patterns of Electoral Success and Legislative Advocacy Among Latina and Latino Officials in Four States. In Hardy-Fanta, Carol (Ed.), Intersectionality and Politics: Recent Research on Gender, Race, and Political Representation in the United States, pp. 121–146. New York: Haworth Press, Inc.Google Scholar
Gamble, Katrina L. (2007). Black Political Representation: An Examination of Legislative Activity Within U.S. House Committees. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 32: 421–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García Bedolla, L. and Scola, B. (2006). Finding Intersection: Race, Class, and Gender in the California Recall Vote. Politics and Gender, 2(1): 5–27.Google Scholar
Griffin, John D. (2006). Senate Apportionment as a Source of Political Inequality. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 31: 405–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, John D. and Newman, Brian (2008). Minority Report: Evaluating Political Equality in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grofman, Bernard, Griffin, Robert, and Glazer, Amihai (1991). Is the Senate More Liberal than the House? Another Look. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 26: 281–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grose, Christian (2011). Congress in Black and White: Race and Representation in Washington and at Home. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guinier, Lani (1995). The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L. (1996). Participation in Congress. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie (2004). The Politics of Disgust: The Public Identity of the Welfare Queen. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Hancock, Ange-Marie (2007). When Multiplication Doesn’t Equal Quick Addition: Examining Intersectionality as a Research Paradigm. Perspectives on Politics, 5: 63–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardy-Fanta, Carol (1993). Latina Politics, Latino Politics: Gender, Culture, and Political Participation in Boston. Boston, MA: Temple Press.Google Scholar
Hardy-Fanta, Carol, Lien, Pei-te, Pinderhughes, Dianne M., and Sierra, Christine. (2006). Gender, Race, and Descriptive Representation in the United States: Findings from the Gender and Multicultural Leadership Project. Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 28(3/4): 7–41.Google Scholar
Haynie, Kerry L. (2001). African American Legislators in the American States. New York: Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawkesworth, Mary (2003). Congressional Enactments of Race-Gender: Toward a Theory of Raced-Gendered Institutions. American Political Science Review, 97: 529–550.Google Scholar
Heath, Roseanna Michelle, Schwindt-Bayer, Leslie A., and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle M. (2005). Women on the Sidelines: Women’s Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures. American Journal of Political Science, 49: 420–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, Bryan D. and Baumgartner, Frank R. (2005). The Politics of Attention: How Government Prioritizes Problems. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jordan-Zachery, Julia (2007). Am I a Black Woman or a Woman Who is Black? A Few Thoughts on the Meaning of Intersectionality. Politics and Gender, 3(2): 254–263 .Google Scholar
Kathlene, Lyn (1994). Power and Influence in State Legislative Policymaking: The Interaction of Gender and Position in Committee Hearing Debates. American Political Science Review, 88: 560–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanter, Rosabeth M. (1977). Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women. American Journal of Sociology, 82: 965–990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kernell, Samuel (1973). Is the Senate More Liberal than the House? Journal of Politics, 35: 332–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Deborah (1988). Multiple Jeopardy, Multiple Consciousness: The Context of Black Feminist Ideology. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Autumn: 88–111.Google Scholar
Leal, David L (2007). Latino Public Opinion: Does it Exist? In Espino, Rodolfo, Leal, David L., and Meier, Kenneth J. (Eds.), Latino Politics: Identity, Mobilization, and Representation, pp. 27–43. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Lee, Frances E. and Oppenheimer, Bruce I. (1999). Sizing Up the Senate: The Unequal Consequences of Equal Representation. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lublin, David (1997). The Paradox of Representation: Racial Gerrymandering and Minority Interests in Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane (1999). Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent Yes. The Journal of Politics, 61: 628–657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minta, Michael D. (2009). Legislative Oversight and the Substantive Representation of Black and Latino Interests in Congress. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 34: 193–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minta, Michael D. (2011). Oversight: Representing the Interests of Blacks and Latinos in Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Minta, Michael D. and Sinclair-Chapman, Valeria (2013). Diversity in Political Institutions and Congressional Responsiveness to Minority Interests. Political Research Quarterly, 66: 127–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orey, , Byron D’Andra, Smooth, Wendy, Adams, Kimberly, and Harris-Clark, Kish (2006). Race and Gender Matter: Refining Models of Legislative Policy Making in State Legislatures. Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 28: 97–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborn, Tracy and Mendez, Jeanette Morehouse (2010). Speaking as Women: Women and Floor Speeches in the Senate. Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 3: 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pardo, Mary (1998). Mexican American Women Activists: Identity and Resistance in Two Los Angeles Communities. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Pearson, Kathryn and Dancey, Logan (2011). Elevating Women’s Voice in Congress: Speech Participation in the House of Representatives. Political Research Quarterly, 64: 910–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, Anne (1995). The Politics of Presence. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Philpot, Tasha S. and Walton, Hanes Jr. (2007). One of Our Own: Black Female Candidates and the Voters Who Support Them. American Journal of Political Science, 51(1): 49–62. Policy Agendas Project. <http://www.policyagendas.org/> (accessed July 1, 2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poole, Keith and Rosenthal, Howard (1997). Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll-Call Voting. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Reingold, Beth (2000). Representing Women: Sex, Gender, and Legislative Behavior in Arizona and California. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Reingold, Beth and Smith, Adrienne R. (2012). Welfare Policymaking and Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in U.S. State Legislatures. American Journal of Political Science, 56(1): 131–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodrigues, Helen A. and Segura, Gary (2007). A Place at the Lunch Counter: Latinos, African Americans, and the Dynamics of American Race Politics. In Espino, Rodolfo, Leal, David L., and Meier, Kenneth J. (Eds.), Latino Politics: Identity, Mobilization, and Representation, pp. 27–43. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, , Cindy Simon (2002). Women Transforming Congress. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
Rouse, Stella M. (2013). Latinos in the Legislative Process: Interests and Influence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanbonmatsu, Kira (2002). Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice. American Journal of Political Science, 46: 20–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanchez, Gabriel R. (2006). The Role of Group Consciousness in Latino Public Opinion. Political Research Quarterly, 59: 435–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schiller, Wendy J. (1995). Senators and Political Entrepreneurs: Using Bill Sponsorship to Shape Legislative Agendas. The American Journal of Political Science, 39(1): 186–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simien, Evelyn M. (2006). Black Feminist Voices in Politics. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simien, Evelyn M. (2009). Clinton and Obama: The Impact of Race and Sex on the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries. In Crotty, William J. (Ed.), Winning the Presidency 2008, pp. 124–134. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar
Smooth, Wendy (2001). Perceptions of Influence in State Legislatures: A Focus on the Experiences of African American Women in State Legislators. PhD Dissertation, Department of Political Science, University of Maryland.Google Scholar
Smooth, Wendy (2006). Intersectionality in Electoral Politics: A Mess Worth Making. Politics and Gender, 2(31): 400–414.Google Scholar
Smooth, Wendy (2011). Standing for Women? Which Women? The Substantive Representation of Women’s Interests and the Research Imperative of Intersectionality. Politics & Gender, 7: 436–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strolovitch, D. (2007). Affirmative Advocacy: Race, Class, and Gender in Interest Group Politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sulkin, Tracy (2005). Issue Politics in Congress. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swers, Michele (2002). The Difference Women Make: The Policy Impact of Women in Congress. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takash-Cruz, Paule (1993). Breaking Barriers to Representation: Chicana Latina Elected Officials in California. Urban Anthropology, 22: 325–360.Google Scholar
Tate, Katherine (2003). Black Faces in the Mirror: African Americans and Their Representatives in the U.S. Congress. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Thomas, Sue (1991). The Impact of Women on State Legislative Policies. Journal of Politics, 53: 958–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, Sue (1994). How Women Legislate. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Warren, Dorian T. (2007). A New Labor Movement?: Race, Class, and the Missing Intersections Between Black and Labor Politics. In Persons, Georgia A. (Ed.), The Expanding Boundaries of Black Politics, pp. 43–64. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.Google Scholar
Wawro, Gregory J. (2000). Legislative Entrepreneurship in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel (2002). Beyond Bodies: Institutional Sources of Representation for Women in Democratic Policymaking. Journal of Politics, 64(4): 1153–1174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitby, Kenny J (1997). The Color of Representation: Congressional Behavior and Black Interests. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, Melissa S. (1998). Voice, Trust, and Memory: Marginalized Groups and the Failings of Liberal Representation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, , Iris Marion (2000). Inclusion and Democracy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University.Google Scholar