Women in the Club – Gender and Policy Making in the Senate - Hardcover

Swers, Michele

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022602279X ISBN 13: 9780226022796

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2013

Synopsis

In the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, Democrats and Republicans were locked in a fierce battle for the female vote. Democrats charged Republicans with waging a "war on women," while Republicans countered that Democratic policies actually undermined women's rights. The women of the Senate wielded particular power throughout, planning press conferences, appearing on political programs, and taking to the Senate floor over gender-related issues such as workplace equality and reproductive rights. The first book to examine the impact of gender differences in the Senate, "Women in the Club" is an eye-opening exploration of how women are influencing policy and politics in this erstwhile male bastion of power. Gender, Michele L. Swers shows, is a fundamental factor for women in the Senate, interacting with both party affiliation and individual ideology to shape priorities on policy. Women, for example, are more active proponents of social welfare and women's rights. But the effects of gender extend beyond mere policy preferences. Senators also develop their priorities with an eye to managing voter expectations about their expertise and advancing their party's position on a given issue. The election of women in increasing numbers has also coincided with the evolution of the Senate as a highly partisan institution. The stark differences between the parties on issues pertaining to gender have meant that Democratic and Republican senators often assume very different roles as they reconcile their policy views on gender issues with the desire to act as members of partisan teams.

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Review

"With "Women in the Club", Michele L. Swers offers the first book-length analysis of the role of gender in the US Senate. Gender differences, she shows, are deeply and pervasively shaped by party politics, with gender affecting senators' activism across a range of policy issues, including women's rights, social welfare, and defense."--Frances E. Lee, University of Maryland

"With "Women in the Club," Michele L. Swers offers the first book-length analysis of the role of gender in the US Senate. Gender differences, she shows, are deeply and pervasively shaped by party politics, with gender affecting senators' activism across a range of policy issues, including women's rights, social welfare, and defense."--Frances E. Lee, University of Maryland

"The US Senate is no longer an 'old boys' club, ' and Michele L. Swers marshals diverse, rich, and nuanced data and engaging analyses of interviews, floor speeches, amendments, and bill sponsorship to show how gender exerts a significant influence--especially in this increasingly partisan environment--on legislative behavior. "Women in the Club "is a welcome addition to the scholarship."

--Cindy Simon Rosenthal, University of Oklahoma

With "Women in the Club," Michele L. Swers offers the first book-length analysis of the role of gender in the US Senate. Gender differences, she shows, are deeply and pervasively shaped by party politics, with gender affecting senators activism across a range of policy issues, including women s rights, social welfare, and defense.
--Frances E. Lee, University of Maryland"

The US Senate is no longer an old boys club, and Michele L. Swers marshals diverse, rich, and nuanced data and engaging analyses of interviews, floor speeches, amendments, and bill sponsorship to show how gender exerts a significant influence especially in this increasingly partisan environment on legislative behavior. "Women in the Club "is a welcome addition to the scholarship.

--Cindy Simon Rosenthal, University of Oklahoma"

About the Author

Michele L. Swers is associate professor of American government at Georgetown University. She is the author of The Difference Women Make, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 022602279X
• ISBN 13: 9780226022796
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304