Participation in Non-Electoral Forms of Political Activity

Are women more or less likely than men to engage in non-electoral political activities? In both 2000 and 2002 women were less likely than men to work with others on local community issues, to express their views on a public issue to public officials, and to attend a meeting about a school or community issue. Only a very small proportion of either men or women report participating in a protest or demonstration.¹

Holding Elective and Appointive Offices and Trends in Office Holding

To what extent do women seek elective office at the state and local level? How successful are they in winning office? What are the trends in holding state or local elective office? Women's representation in state legislatures has increased substantially since 1973. In that year, women held 5.6% of state legislative seats. Prior to the 2002 election women held 22.7% of state legislative seats, while in 2003 they held 22.3% (CAWP 2003a). In 2002, 501 women were candidates in state senate races and 58.3% were elected. In that same year, 1,843 women were candidates for state house seats and 61.7% were elected. Women's electoral success in state legislative contests varied substantially from state to state (CAWP 2003d; 2003e; 2003f). with incumbency playing a very important role in electoral success. In the 2002 elections to the lower chamber of state legislatures, 94% of the women incumbents seeking re-election won and 75% of the women elected were incumbents. In state senate elections, 95% of the women running for re-election won and 77% of the women elected were incumbents (CAWP 2003d; 2003e; 2003f). Other explanations for patterns of women's representation in state legislatures focus on differences in the states' political cultures, the use of multi-member legislative districts (Rule 1999), and the candidate pool, with increased proportions of women in the workforce and in professional occupations being related to increased representation of women in state legislatures (Ford and Dolan 1999).

Women have less frequently held executive offices at the state and local level. Six women served as state governors in 2003. Only 24 women have ever held the post of governor, with 16 elected in their own right, three replacing their husbands, and five succeeding to the governorship under constitutional provisions. Women have been more successful in obtaining election to other state-wide offices. Of the 273 state-wide elected offices other than governors, women held 27.3% in 2003 (CAWP 2003b; 2003c).

Women are more likely to seek and to be elected to local offices at the city and county levels. Of the 243 cities with a population over 100,000, women served as mayors in 37 and as mayors in 14 of the 100 largest (CAWP 2003b). In 2002, women served as mayors in 206 cities with a population greater than 30,000, or 17% of the cities of that size. In comparison, in 1977, 6.2% of cities of that size had women mayors, and by 1997, 20.6% of cities of that size had women mayors (Costello, Miles, and Stone 1998, 361, Table 8.3).

One hypothesis explaining patterns of state and local office holding is the desirability thesis: “The higher the level of office and the more power the office has, the less likely a woman is to be elected” (Darcy, Welch, and Clark 1994, 44). Support for that explanation is provided by research on the types of cities in which women serve as mayors or city council members. Women are more likely to serve as mayors in cities in which the post is part-time and more likely to be city council members in cities with large councils, those which do not pay council members, or those with term limits for city council members (MacManus and Bullock 1996).

The proportion of county level and school board offices held by women has increased substantially, with the proportion of county commissioner posts growing from 3% in 1975 to 24% in 1998. The proportion of school board positions held by women rose from 25.7% in 1978 to 44% in 1997 (MacManus et al. 1999).