Women in Politics: Outsiders or Insiders, CourseSmart eTextbook, 5th Edition

This text is designed as a reader on the topic of women and politics to aid in integrating the study of women in the political system. It provides relevant research on women and politics across a spectrum of toics and perspectives. With a feminist theoretical framework, it examines some gender differences in political attitudes and voting, looks at gender cultural relections in the mass media and group politics, and examines how women have fared in competing for public office. Also discussed are the various branches of government and how women are or are not participating the functions of government, and explore women and national public policy; and women in regard to activism, empowerment, changing roles and cultural expression.

Preface

PART I: Women, Equality, and Feminist Theory

Chapter 1: The Study of Women: A Theoretical Framework

Feminist Theory as Seeing

Jennifer Ring - University of Nevada, Reno

The Riddle of Consciousness: Racism and Identity in Feminist Theory

Nancie E. Caraway - University of Hawaii-Manoa

PART II: Women and Politics

Chapter 2: Gender Differences in Political Attitudes and Voting

More Rethinking Pink and Blue: Gender, Occupational  Stratification, and Political Attitudes,

Maureen Rand Oakley - Mount St. Mary’s University

Gertrude A. Steuernagel — Deceased

Thomas E. Yatsco - U.S. Department of Transportation

Irene J. Barnett - Kent State University

The Restoration of the Gender Gap in 2004: Are Women Becoming an Important Constituency in American Politics?

Cal Clark - Auburn University

Janet M. Clark - University of West Georgia

The New Right in American Politics: What Do Women Have to Do with It?

Cynthia Burack - Ohio State University

Chapter 3: Women, Media, and Group Politics

Women Politicians and the Mass Media: Does Gender Influence the News?

Lois Duke Whitaker - Georgia Southern University 

The New Gendered Partisan Divide and Representation of Women and Women’s Organizations

Denise L. Baer - Strategic Research Concepts, Rockville, Maryland

Insider Tactics, Viable Candidates, and Women’s Capital:  How EMILY’s List Became a Major Political Force

Jamie Pamelia Pimlott - Niagara University

Chapter 4: Women and Elections: The Uphill Struggle

First Time Candidates: How Strategic Are Women Running for the State Legislature?

Susan A. MacManus - University of South Florida

Charles S. Bullock, III - University of Georgia

Kathryn A. DePalo - Florida International University

Rachael Ivey - University of Georgia 

Women Campaign Consultants: A New Actor in the Campaign Process

Sarah E. Brewer, Contractor, Abbtech Staffing Services Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State

PART III: GENDER AND GOVERNMENT

Chapter 5: Legislatures, Women, and Policy Making        

Women in the U.S. Congress: From Entry to Exit

Jennifer L. Lawless - American University

Sean M. Theriault - University of Texas

Gender and Representation in State Legislatures

Sarah Poggione - Ohio University

Chapter 6: The Executive Branch: Women and Leadership

A Woman in Charge of the Country?  Women Prime Ministers and Presidents - a (Not Quite) Global Phenomenon

Farida Jalalzai - University of Missouri-Saint Louis 

First Ladies and Their Influence on Politics, Policy, and the Presidency

Robert P. Watson - Lynn University

Fulfilling the Promise: Governor Ladies to Chief Executives and Beyond

Sara J. Weir - Western Washington University

Toward a Representative Bureaucracy: Can Gender Make a Difference?

Katherine Naff - San Francisco State University

Chapter 7: The Courts: Women and Decisions

Litigating for Social Change: The Role of Women’s Groups in Advancing Women’s Rights

Karen O’Connor - The American University

Alixandra B. Yanus - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill    

Making a Difference: Women in the Judiciary

Elaine Martin - Eastern Michigan University

Barry Pyle - Eastern Michigan University    

PART IV: WOMEN AND NATIONAL POLICY

CHAPTER 8: Public Policy: The Feminist Perspective

Working Women and Their Families: The Family and Medical Leave Act

Joan Hulse Thompson - Arcadia University

Gonzales v. Carhart: The Implications of the ‘Partial Birth Abortion Ban’ on Reproductive Rights and Women’s Health

Jessica Waters - American University

Affirmative Action and Women

Roberta Ann Johnson - University of San Francisco

Chapter 9: Women, Empowerment, and Cultural Expression                    

Third-Wave Feminism and Individualism: Promoting Equality or Reinforcing the Status Quo?

Kathleen P. Iannello - Gettysburg College

Inside or Outside? Women’s Role in American Military History

D’Ann M. Campbell - Montana State University, Billings

Grounds for Criticism: Coffee, Passion, and the Politics of Feminist Discourse

Elizabeth A. Kelly - DePaul University

Contributors