Pursuing Women’s Interests in Partisan Times: Explaining Gender Differences in Legislative Activity on Health, Education, and Women’s Health Issues

Abstract

How can we explain why gender differences in policy activity emerge on some issues and not others? I use senators’ broad reach as policy generalists to examine the impact of gender on policy entrepreneurship on health care, education, and women’s health. I find that female senators act on gender preferences as members of partisan teams. Because social welfare and women’s rights are seen as owned by the Democratic Party, gender preferences, voter expectations concerning women’s expertise, and party reputations align to encourage Democratic women to advocate for these policies. By contrast, these issues are not central to the reputation of the Republican Party and can alienate core supporters creating a more complex calculus for Republican women.

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