Gender and American Politics: Women, Men and the Political Process

by Tolleson-Rinehart,Sue

• ISBN13: 9780765604095
• ISBN10: 0765604094
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2000-01-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Gender matters in American politics, sometimes in obvious ways and sometimes in ways rarely noticed. As manifested in the "gender gap", it inflects political attitudes and behaviors, resulting in distinctive patterns of difference and similarity in the opinions and voting behavior of men and women. It plays a role in public policy decision making on a wide range of issues, not only those related to reproduction and health. Finally, and sometimes very subtly, gender and gendered assumptions influence the operation of governmental institutions from the cabinet to Congress to the courtroom, and the ways those institutions are changing over time.

This path-breaking collection of original essays systematically explores the roles of gender in American political life -- how men and women are politically the same and politically different in their attitudes and actions. Among the topics covered are political knowledge; moral decision making; patterns of participation; taxation; gender in policy debates; social policy; health policy; and women in the cabinet, the Cong

Author Biography

R. Michael Alvarez is associate professor of political science at the California Institute of Technology MaryAnne Borrelli is an associate professor of government at Connecticut College M. Margaret Conway is distinguished professor of political science at the University of Florida Michael X. Delli Carpini is director of the public policy program of the Pew Charitable Trusts and professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University Richard L. Fox is assistant professor of political science at Union College, Schenectady, New York Jyl Josephson is assistant professor of political science at Illinois State University Scott Keeter is professor of government and politics and chair of the department of public and international affairs at George Mason University Edward J. McCaffery is the Maurice Jones Jr. professor of law at the University of Southern California Law School and visiting professor of law and economics at the California Institute of Technology Susan Gluck Mezey, Ph.D., J.D., is a professor in the political science department at Loyola University Chicago Eric Plutzer is associate professor of political science and sociology at Penn State University Dorothy McBride Stetson is professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University Sue Tolleson-Rinehart is the program administrator of the UNC Program on Health Outcomes and the director of administration and dissemination of the Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Table of Contents

About the Authors	vii
Introduction. Gender, Sex, and American Political Life	3	(16)
Jyl J. Josephson
Sue Tolleson-Rinehart
Part One. Political Behavior	19	(70)
Gender and Political Knowledge	21	(32)
Michael X. Delli Carpini
Scott Keeter
Are Moral Voices Gendered? Care, Rights, and Autonomy in Reproductive Decision Making	53	(21)
Eric Plutzer
Gender and Political Participation	74	(15)
M. Margaret Conway
Part Two. Public Policy	89	(94)
Gender and Tax	91	(23)
R. Michael Alvarez
Edward J. McCaffery
Gendering Policy Debates: Job Training and Abortion Regulation	114	(19)
Dorothy McBride Stetson
Gender and Social Policy	133	(27)
Jyl J. Josephson
``Women Get Sicker; Men Die Quicker'': Gender, Health Politics, and Health Policy	160	(23)
Sue Tolleson-Rinehart
Part Three. Institutions	183
Gender, Politics, and Change in the United States Cabinet: The Madeleine Korbel Albright and Janet Reno Appointments	185	(20)
MaryAnne Borrelli
Gender and the Federal Judiciary	205	(22)
Susan Gluck Mezey
Gender and Congressional Elections	227
Richard L. Fox