How Women Legislate

The most comprehensive study to date of the effects women have had on legislation and the lawmaking process, this text analyzes the differences between women's and men's backgrounds before entering public office, as well as differences in their agendas, priorities, working styles, and leadership once they are in office. Arguing that there is a significant difference in legislative outcomes when the number of women in a given legislature reaches a certain threshold, the author provides one of the first analyses of the overall effects of women on the laws that are passed and on the way legislative business is done.