Moving beyond women's Issues": gender and legislative activities in the States"

Abstract

It has long been shown that female representatives tend to be more active than their male counterparts on so-called "women's issues." However, as women begin to increase their numbers in state legislatures, it is time to expand our research beyond "women's issues" to see where else women may be active. By looking at bill introduction and success by committee type in six state legislatures, I aim to examine where women may be devoting their time. In the end, there are few differences between men and women across the states in the sample that would suggest overarching gender differences.These findings are significant as they suggest women may be getting to the point where they feel a greater freedom to pursue a more expansive legislative agenda.