Gender and Policy Implementation: Analyzing and Predicting the Progress of Congressional Bills Targeting Homeless Women, 1977–1987

Abstract

This study examines congressional policymaking and funding support for homeless women during the 1980s. Contemporary research shows that this time period marked an important demographic shift in the composition of homeless individuals in the United States, as women, children, and families comprised a larger portion of homeless populations. Using Schneider and Ingram’s (1993; 1997) Degenerative Policy Design, I used logistic regression and predicted probabilities to analyze federal congressional bills on homelessness during a 10-year period from 1977 to 1988. Results indicate that bills targeting homeless women, children, and families increased over time, but there was substantive policy action for these groups. This aligns with Schneider and Ingram’s theory that groups like homeless women, who are constructed as dependent and needy but politically powerless, garner congressional elite sympathy but no monetary resources at the national level.

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