ABSTRACT
Who are Asian Pacific American (APA) female and male elected officials serving at national, state, and local levels offices in the United States? How do women in each level of office get to where they are as compared to their male counterparts? Using a new and one-of-a-kind database created from the online roster at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in early 2014, we present results of a preliminary but systematic examination of the political socialization background and trajectories to office of the nation’s population of APA women and men serving in various offices as Congress members, statewide elected officials, state legislators, county commissioners/supervisors, city/town council members, and school board members. Our findings support the idea that political trajectories for women and men of color do not follow a linear and upward pattern. We also affirm the gendered influence of personal demographic and professional factors as well as family socialization background in structuring electoral experiences of APA EOs in various levels of office.
