Women state legislators and represenation [sic] : a case study of Missouri, 1923-2009

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Over the last century women legislators have made tremendous gains in state legislatures; yet their numbers remain far below the proportion of women in the general public. This essay examines women state legislators and their role as representatives. I will provide a discussion of the changing woman legislator through a case study analysis of the 175 women who have served in the Missouri House of Representatives as well as information from interviews I conducted with women who served in the House during the 2009 legislative session. Using Pitkin's (1967) concepts of substantive and descriptive representation, I will discuss women legislators as representatives and offer explanations for why the number of women state legislators has remained relatively stable over the last twenty years, highlighting the impact of term limits and the importance of recruitment in women's political representation.