The Right Women: Republican Party Activists, Candidates, and Legislators

by Malliga Och (Editor), Shauna L. Shames (Editor), Juliet Williams (Editor)

Overview

A powerful exploration of the role of women in the Republican Party that enhances readers' understanding of gender representation in the GOP and suggests solutions to address the partisan gender gap.

Why is the Republican Party dominated by men to a far greater extent than its primary rival? With literature on conservative women in the United States still in its infancy, this book fills an important gap by examining Republican women as distinct from their male Republican and Democratic female counterparts while also exploring the shifting role of Republican women in their party and in politics overall. The Right Women brings those subjects together in one volume that will provide fascinating reading to students, scholars, and anyone else interested in U.S. politics.

The analysis is presented in four parts, beginning with a look at the role of women as voters and activists in the GOP. The second section explores the process of candidate emergence, tackling the question of why so few women run as Republicans and why those who do are less successful than their Democratic female and Republican male counterparts. In the third part, the contributors shed light on Republican women in Congress and state legislatures and their behavior as lawmakers. The final section assesses the outcome of the 2016 election for Republican women in general and, specifically, for Carly Fiorina, the only female candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Each section of the book concludes with a short "guide to action" that takes the insights set forth and applies them to suggest ways to promote a greater involvement of women in the Republican Party.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765134474
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/31/2024
Series:	Gender Matters in U.S. Politics
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Malliga Och is Assistant Professor of international studies at Idaho State University, USA, and former Research Director at Political Parity (Hunt Alternatives) in Cambridge, MA, USA.

Shauna L. Shames is Assistant Professor of political science at Rutgers University, USA. She has worked with Political Parity, National Organization for Women (NOW), and other groups for more than 15 years to advance women's political representation.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Kira Sanbonmatsu
Part 1: Activists and Ideology
1 The Grand Old Party of 2016: No Longer a Party of Old White Men?
Malliga Och
2 Gendering Republican Party Culture
Catherine Wineinger
3 Women in the Tea Party and the GOP: A Natural Alliance?
Melissa Deckman
4 Republican Women, Then and Now: Ideological Changes in Congressional Candidates from 1980 to 2012
Danielle M. Thomsen
Part 2: Elections and Candidates
5 Higher Hurdles for Republican Women: Ideology, Inattention, and Infrastructure
Shauna L. Shames
6 A Run for Their Money: Republican Women's Hard Road to Campaign Funding
Rosalyn Cooperman and Melody Crowder-Meyer
7 Republican Women in the 2016 Election: Progress or Same Old Patterns?
Kelly Dittmar
Part 3: State Legislators
8 Why So Few Republican Women in State Legislatures? The Causes and Consequences
Laurel Elder
9 Moving Up or Getting Out: The Career Patterns of Republican Women State Legislators
H. Abbie Erler
Part 4: Congresswomen
10 From the Republican Revolution to the Tea Party Wave: Republican Women and the Politics of Women's Issues
Michele L. Swers
11 Republican Female Lawmakers' Contributions to Legislative Debates in the 113th U.S. Congress
Christina Xydias
Part 5: Conclusion
12 Republican Party Politics, Women's Electoral Fortunes, and the Myth of Gender Neutrality
Ronnee Schreiber
Glossary of Key Terms
About the Editors and Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

Farida Jalalzai

"This is a very valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationship of women in American politics to the Republican Party, both historically but also in today's electoral environment. It will be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners. The collection brings together the best scholars analyzing women in the Republican Party specifically and women in conservative parties more generally. It deals with very salient topics and employs myriad approaches to answer its key questions dealing with barriers to and opportunities for women’s inclusion on the 'right' side of the aisle. If we say we want more women in politics, we should not limit them to only half of the political spectrum."

Kerry Healey

"The Republican Party must recruit and welcome more women into its ranks. This book is a must-read for party officials, activists, and academics who study women’s participation in politics and seek to better serve and support conservative women interested in running for office."

Connie Morella

“The Right Women comes out at the right time on the right subject. It motivates us to work to ‘level the playing field’ for Republican women candidates. Their voices need to be heard.”

Christine Todd Whitman

“If the Republican Party wants to be relevant in the 21st century, it has to appeal to more women voters. Despite having once been the party that saw more women run for office than its counterpart and having enjoyed more female support at the polls, the GOP has been steadily losing its edge with women. This work, a compilation of studies on how this happened and what the party can do, should be read by everyone who wants to see Republicans broaden their appeal. The world might not be perfect if run by women, but it would surely be different!”

Swanee Hunt

“The United States ranks lower than at least 100 other nations in electing women to national legislative office. To achieve political parity in the United States, we need to raise up women from both political parties. Kudos to Och and Shames for assembling this strong, timely analysis of the current state of play for Republican women candidates, and the many challenges they face.”

Sarah Lenti

"Since Republican women consistently are on the lowest rung on the gender-gap ladder in American politics, this book is a mandatory read for anyone seeking more of them elected. Let’s do ourselves and America a favor—let’s read this, and let’s encourage more women to run."