| Description |
Though women received the right to vote in 1919 with the ratification of the nineteenth amendment, women still hold few elected positions. In the United States Congress, women make up 19.4% of the body. When groups are not represented fully, this affects the quality of the representation they receive. In this paper, I examine this relationship between women and their legislature, how women's underrepresentation has affected women's issues in America, women's confidence in the legislature, and legitimacy. To understand representative governments and their functions, and to set up the theoretical framework for this paper, I use Hanna Pitkin's and Jane Mansbridge's work on representation. After examining the status of women's representation in the United States, I apply those theories to current policies to assess the levels of representation women are receiving from their government. Next, I discuss how increasing women's numbers will help solve the problems that stem from women's underrepresentation. Finally, I give an analysis of possible policy changes to increase the number of women legislators at both the state and national levels. |
